Gabriela Dabrowski will miss out on back-to-back US Open titles.
The Ottawan, alongside Luisa Stefani of Brazil, were stunned by the American duo of Robin Montgomery and Ashlyn Krueger in the semifinals on Wednesday. Dabrowski and Stefani were up a break in the third set and held two match points, but ultimately fell 4-6, 6-4, 7-6(8) despite holding an 8-2 edge in the deciding tiebreaker.
Dabrowski’s Grand Slam season ends after reaching at least the semifinals in all four majors, including a trip to the Wimbledon final. The world No. 3 also made the Roland-Garros mixed doubles final.
Dabrowski and Stefani didn’t take long to grab hold of the opening set, converting on their first two break points to lead 3-0. However, Montgomery and Krueger were quickly back within reach as the all-American pair won the next six balls from 3-0, 40-all, to cut their deficit to 2-3.
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After saving break point in the sixth game, Dabrowski and Stefani restored their double-break advantage and had the chance to serve out the set at 5-2. Montgomery and Krueger wouldn’t go away, though. The young Americans broke to stay alive in the opener and consolidated the loss of serve, putting the pressure back on Dabrowski and Stefani to close out the set at 5-4.
This time, the second seeds managed to comfortably seal the first, holding at love to move one set away from the final.
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After completing a winning run of 18-straight service points, Dabrowski and Stefani were back under some pressure late in the second. Serving to extend the set at 4-5, the Wimbledon finalists lost serve on the third break point of the game as the match went the distance.
The all-important first break of the decisive set went to Dabrowski and Stefani in third game, but Montgomery and Krueger stayed on their heels. After failing to convert on break point in the ensuing game, the Americans later broke at 3-2, 30-40, to even up the contest.
Dabrowski and Stefani retook the lead in the crucial stages, breaking in the ninth game to get the opportunity to serve for the match, but again, Montgomery and Krueger wouldn’t go down. The 22-year-old Americans saved two match points at 5-4 before breaking back to keep their run on home soil alive.
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The contest needed a deciding tiebreaker to discover who will compete for the US Open title, and all was going the way of Dabrowski and Stefani. The Canadian-Brazilian pair took their first five points on return to grab a 7-2 lead, soon extending their advantage to as much as 8-2.
In Montgomery and Krueger fashion, they made another push from behind. The duo won seven points on the bounce and suddenly, Dabrowski and Stefani were faced with match point at 8-9. The stress got to the second seeds as a double fault put an end to the Canadian’s title defence.
Dabrowski and Stefani will take on the Asian swing before heading to the WTA Finals in Indian Wells.
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Feature Photo: Martin Sidorjak
