Photo : Martin Sidorjak
Gabriela Dabrowski’s return to the WTA Finals for the first time since 2019 did not go the way she hoped, as she and partner Giuliana Olmos were beaten in their first group stage match by seventh seeds Beatriz Haddad Maia and Anna Danilina in straight sets.
The second seeds found themselves on the wrong side of a first set full of momentum swings before Haddad Maia and Danilina ran away with the second set for a 7-5, 6-0 victory.
Dabrowski and Olmos struggled with their serve, winning just 52 per cent of their first serve points and claiming a mere three points on their second serve. They faced eight break points in the match but saved just one.
Each woman was broken the first time they stepped up to serve before Dabrowski held in the fifth game. Starting with the Canadian, the trend reversed with four straight holds of serve.
It very nearly reversed again when Dabrowski, Haddad Maia and Olmos were all broken in succession. The Brazilian served for the set at 5-4 and held two set points, but she double faulted the first away before a stabbing volley from the Canadian levelled the set.
But after Olmos was broken, Danilina was able to serve out the first set to love.
Just like the first set, Dabrowski was broken in the first game of the second. The Canadian/Mexican pair had a chance to get right back on serve, but Danilina was able to hold from love-30 down for a 2-0 lead.
That proved to be the last gasp for Dabrowski and Olmos as the remainder of the second set was one-way traffic. The Canadian-Mexican duo failed to get on the board as they were bageled, winning just nine points.
Hope is not lost of Dabrowski in Fort Worth. Due to the round robin format, positive results in her final two matches could still see her advance to the semifinals. Her second group stage match will take place on Thursday.
