Routliffe-Dabrowski claim women's doubles crown; Mektic-Rajeev clinch men's title in Cincinnati

Cincinnati, Aug 18 (IANS) Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe defeated Guo Hanyu and Alexandra Panova 6-4, 6-3 in the Cincinnati Open women's doubles final to claim their first WTA 1000 title as partners.

Dabrowski and Routliffe first paired up in Montreal two years ago. Since then, they they had won five titles, including the US Open and the WTA Finals, and reached career-high rankings.

Cincinnati triumph is their second title of the season and sixth overall as partners. Following the victory, Routliffe will remain at No. 7 in the WTA Doubles Rankings, while Dabrowski is set to move up five spots to No. 8.

For Routliffe, it’s her second straight title in Cincinnati after winning last year with Asia Muhammad. Both of her WTA 1000 titles have come at this event.

For Dabrowski, it’s her fifth career WTA 1000 doubles title for Dabrowski, and first since the 2022 Madrid Open.

In the men's doubles, Nikola Mektic and Rajeev Ram completed a dream run at the Cincinnati Open when they held their nerve to defeat Lorenzo Musetti and Lorenzo Sonego in the final to secure their maiden Masters 1000 title as a pair.

Playing their first tour-level final together in just their third event of the year, Mektic and Ram staged a comeback to edge the all-Italian pair 4-6, 6-3, 10-5 in a 90-minute clash to win their first trophy as a team.

By reaching the final, Mektic joined Rohan Bopanna and Mate Pavic as the only active doubles players to reach finals of all nine ATP Masters 1000 events. With the win, he earned his 11th Masters 1000 crown, the most among active players.

At 41 years and 4 months, Ram became the second-oldest men’s doubles champion in Cincinnati in the Open Era, after 42-year-old Daniel Nestor, who triumphed in 2015 with Edouard Roger-Vasselin, according to ATP stats.

--IANS

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