Routliffe, Dabrowski semifinal bound in Osaka

Erin Routliffe and Gaby Dabrowski have advanced into the semifinals in Osaka with another straight-set win at the WTA 250 tournament.

On Wednesday night Routliffe, who is ranked No 2, and world No 5 Dabrowski defeated Shuko Aoyama and Eric Hozumi, who are both from Japan, 6-2 6-4 in just under an hour and a half.

It was Routliffe and Dabrowski’s ability to step up in the big moments that helped them with this victory as they won six of the nine deciding points, while Aoyama and Hozumi were only able to convert one of the 11 break points they had.

By winning this match Routliffe and Dabrowski have reached their first semifinal since winning the Cincinnati Open in mid-August and these matches will help them get sharp before next month’s WTA Finals in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

The Kiwi/Canadian team will have Thursday off, as the top seats wait for other matches in the top half of the draw to be played.

But one thing is certain, they won’t have to play the No 2 seeds if they make it to the finals, as Sofia Kenin and Bethanie Mattek-Sands suffered a surprise 6-1 6-2 loss to Angelica Morateli and Anna Siskova in the opening round.