Photo: Martin Sidorjak
She is finally crowned after also being a Madrid tournament finalist in 2019 and 2021
Canada’s Gabriela Dabrowski (Ottawa, ON) won her first doubles title of the season on Saturday. Paired with Mexican Giuliana Olmos, Dabrowski defeated the third-seeded team of Demi Schuurs and Desirae Krawcyk 7-6(1), 5-7, 10-7 in the final of the Mutua Madrid Open. For Dabrowski, this is a first triumph in three final appearances at the Madrid tournament after reaching the championship match in 2021 (with Schuurs) and in 2019 (with Yifan Xu).
“It’s been amazing to be back and enjoy Madrid”, stated Dabrowski after the finale. “I love this city a lot and this is actually my third final in a row here, so I guess third time is the charm. With my partner [Giuliana], we had a bit of a slow start this season, but we stuck it out, we worked together and [this week] we played a great tournament.”
Although this was their ninth tournament together, it was the first time Dabrowski and Olmos reached a final. Their previous best result came in 2021 in Miami where they lost in the semifinals. As the no. 2 seeds in Madrid, they had a tough time, overcoming a one-set deficit in two of their three matches this week: in the second round against Xinyun Han and Alexandra Panova (6-7[3], 6-4, 10-8) and in the final four against Jelena Ostapenko and Lyudmyla Kichenok (5-7, 6-1, 10-6). They reversed that trend in the final with a stunning first set win in which six breaks – three on each side – were recorded
Clearly energized by getting the lead, Dabrowski and Olmos picked up the pace, winning back-to-back games for the first time in the match to take control of the second set at 2-0. Schuurs and Krawcyk weren’t going to go down without a fight, however, and managed to mount a comeback, breaking the Canadian and the Mexican in the eighth game to level the match at 4-4. The Dutchwoman and the American continued to build momentum, closing the set at 7-5 to extend the match.
In the end, it was Dabrowski and Olmos who prevailed. Showing great resilience, they won their third straight super tiebreak in Madrid to claim a thrilling 7-6(1), 5-7, 10-7 victory and become the new champions of the prestigious Spanish tournament.
Dabrowski now has three WTA 1000 doubles titles in her trophy case, including lifting the trophy in Montreal last year and Miami in 2017. She now holds 11 women’s doubles titles and 2 mixed doubles titles (Australian Open and French Open in 2018). As for Olmos, who competed in the WTA finals last year with Canadian Sharon Fichman, the Madrid trophy is her fourth doubles title and her second captured at a 1000 event after claiming top honors with Fichman in Rome last year.
