Gabriela Dabrowski capped off her 400th WTA win in style by hoisting the Internationaux de Strasbourg trophy on Saturday.
Top-seeds Dabrowski and Luisa Stefani defeated Ulrikke Eikeri and Quinn Gleason 7-5, 6-4 for a place in the winner’s circle, securing their second title of the year following their triumph in Dubai.
The Canadian-Brazilian team were broken in their opening service game of each set but quickly managed to erase the deficit on both occasions, converting on five of their seven break points before clinching the straight-set victory.
After an early loss of serve put Dabrowski and Stefani down 0-2, the duo quickly broke back on sudden-death deuce in the ensuing game. The No. 1 seeds then held comfortably to bring the opening set back to level terms.
Dabrowski and Stefani cruised on their delivery the rest of the way. The Canadian put away a volley at 5-5, 30-40, to give her side the opportunity to serve out the set, holding to love in the 12th game as the team finished the opener with 88 per cent of their first-serve points won.
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Despite breaking in the opening game of the second, Dabrowski and Stefani lost serve in back-to-back service games to find themselves down a break again in a set at 1-3. Undeterred, the Dubai champions coolly saved break point in the sixth game before needing just one attempt at 4-2, 15-40, to force the loss of serve and eventually bring the set to four apiece.
Dabrowski and Stefani piled the pressure late once again as the duo broke for the second-consecutive time, gaining the chance to serve for the title at 5-4. On championship point, the Canadian fired a serve down the “T” to secure her fourth WTA clay-court title.
The Ottawa-native will move back into the Top 5 at No. 4 as her and Stefani are set to be the fourth seeds at Roland-Garros.
Mboko Unable to Complete Comeback in Strasbourg Final
Victoria Mboko was out on Court Patrice Dominguez for the Internationaux de Strasbourg final on Saturday following concerns of an injury sustained in the second set of her semifinal win over Jaqueline Cristian.
The Canadian No. 1 overcame a slow start to the Strasbourg title match but, in the end, the 19-year-old from Burlington fell 6-0, 5-7, 6-2 to American Emma Navarro.
Mboko couldn’t get anything going on her delivery in the opening set as she won just 38 per cent of her first-serve points. The world No. 9 battled to try to get on the board in the fourth game, playing through deuce twelve before she conceded serve. Navarro broke on her first set point at 0-5, 30-40, wrapping up the opener in 40 minutes.
However, the Canadian was unfazed despite the first-set bagel as she broke to love in the opening game of the second but was immediately broken back. Mboko had to hold her nerve in the crucial part of the second, saving break and match point at 4-5, 30-40, to extend the contest. From 5-5, 30-40, the teen won the last five balls of the set to force a decider.
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Navarro had the stronger start to the final set and didn’t look back. Through the first four game, the American didn’t concede a point on her serve and converted on one of two break points to take a 3-1 edge.
Mboko had her best chance to get back into the set at 4-2, 15-40, but Navarro served fearlessly to go one-game away from getting her hands on the title. A single game is all she needed as the former world No. 8 watched Mboko’s backhand find the net, the Canadian’s 57th unforced error of the day.
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Sights now shift to Roland-Garros where ninth-seed Mboko opens the event against 20-year-old Czech Nikola Bartunkova.
Feature Photo: Martin Sidorjak
