February has been a good month for Canadian career-highs.
Gabriela Dabrowski joined Victoria Mboko after the former hoisted her sixth WTA 1000 trophy. The Ottawan, alongside Luisa Stefani of Brazil, defeated Laura Siegemund and Vera Zvonareva 6-1, 6-3 in the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships final on Saturday. Dabrowski now moves to No. 2 in the WTA doubles rankings.
The Canadian-Brazilian team were on cruise control on serve, winning 89 per cent of their first-serve points. The fifth seeds were still under some pressure at times, but they managed to fend off all six break points they faced, while converting on four of seven break opportunities themselves.
Dabrowski and Stefani took advantage of sudden-death deuce right from the start. The duo broke on deciding point at 1-1 then at 1-3 to score back-to-back breaks.
At 4-1, Dabrowski and Stefani went on to win 12-straight points to wrap up the opening set and get off to a 1-0 lead to begin the second.
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The Canadian-Brazilian duo inched closer to the title as, at 1-2, 30-40, Dabrowski’s sliced backhand fooled Siegemund and Zvonareva, securing what ended up being the set’s decisive break.
Dabrowski and Stefani worked themselves out of a love-40 hole in the seventh game to later get the opportunity to serve for the match at 5-3. With double match point, the Brazilian put away her volley, sealing her side’s place into the winner’s circle in Dubai.
“It’s a great feeling, but honestly, rankings come and go, and I'm more interested in just having a great partnership and going deep in tournaments consistently,” said Dabrowski of her career-high ranking of No. 2 in the world.
“That's always been my goal, so I'm really happy to have achieved it. But a ranking doesn't occur on its own, and it's about all the people that help you get there, from coaching to physio, fitness, doctors, and your doubles partner who is on the court beside you. I couldn't have achieved that number without them, and a big thanks is owed to them.”
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Dabrowski and Stefani won their second WTA 1000 title as a team, their first came at the National Bank Open presented by Rogers in 2021.
Stefani will also get a boost in the WTA doubles rankings as she re-enters the Top 10.
Feature Photo: Martin Sidorjak
