Dabrowski, partner Routliffe drop 3-set Miami Open women’s final to American duo

Canada’s Gabriela Dabrowski and New Zealand’s Erin Routliffe were on the wrong end of a comeback, falling 4-6, 7-6 (5), 11-9 to Americans Sofia Kenin and Bethanie Mattek-Sands in the Miami Open women’s doubles final on Sunday.

After taking the first set, Ottawa’s Dabrowski and Routliffe found themselves behind 5-1 in the second.

However, they forced a tiebreaker in which they fell behind 5-1 in as well before trying to rally but ultimately losing the set.

In the match tiebreak game, Kenin and Mattek-Sands turned a 5-0 edge into an 8-4 lead. Dabrowski and Routliffe kept plugging away, though, making it a 9-9 game before the Americans pulled away to seal the win.

WATCH l Dabrowski, Routliffe fall in Miami Open final:

Ottawa’s Gabriela Dabrowski falls in women’s doubles final at Miami Open

Americans Sofia Kenin and Bethanie Mattek-Sands defeat Ottawa’s Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe of New Zealand 4-6, 7-6 (5), 11-9 in the Miami Open women’s doubles final. Kenin and Mattek-Sands entered the tournament draw as alternates after the withdrawal of another team.

The unseeded duo of Kenin and Mattek-Sands entered the tournament draw as alternates after the withdrawal of another team.

It was the first final appearance of the season for the second-seeded Dabrowski and Routliffe, who won the U.S. Open title last September.

Sinner beats Dimitrov in men’s final

Jannik Sinner’s strong 2024 continued as he won the Miami Open with 6-3, 6-1 victory over 11th seed Grigor Dimitrov later on Sunday.

In a flawless display on a 79-degree afternoon, Sinner, the 2024 Australian Open champion, moved to 22-1 on the year in winning the Miami Open for the first time. Sinner had been runner-up twice in 2021 and 2023.

In his second straight Miami Open finals appearance (Sinner lost last year to Daniil Medvedev), the 22-year-old played with an abundance of confidence despite the crowd cheering on the underdog from Bulgaria. Sinner ended it in 1 hour, 13 minutes with a backhand winner.

Chants of “Gri-gor” resounded the entire match inside the home stadium of the NFL’s Miami Dolphins. Dimitrov had created a buzz this week with upsets of top seed Carlos Alcaraz in the quarterfinals and No. 3 seed Alexander Zverev in the semifinals.

Sinner, who was never broken and faced just one break point, was undeterred by the pro-Dimitrov crowd and could be an early favourite for the upcoming French Open.

The men’s tour swings in April to the clay-court season in Europe finished off by the French at Roland Garros which begins on May 20.

Sinner won his first major at the Australian Open, then captured the title Rotterdam, and was a finalist in Indian Wells. His only loss in 2024 was in the Indian Wells final to Alcaraz.

Dimitrov, 10 years older than Sinner at 32, will vault into the top 10 rankings for the first time since 2018 while Sinner also hits a milestone, moving from No. 3 to 2 — highest ranking of his young career.

Amidst a long rally, Dimitrov hit a drop shot into the net. Thereafter, he advanced to the net twice only to get beaten by two deft passing shots by Sinner. While Dimitrov has a decent net game, Sinner is perhaps the best passer in tennis.

At 3-5, Dimitrov got broken again with Sinner at his best. He set up a double-set point with an inside-out forehand return that clipped the far sideline for a winner. Dimitrov saved the first set point before Sinner closed it out with another passing shot — this time with a backhand down the line.

His chances in the second set were wiped out when he got broken at 2-1. Sinner kept the ball deep on the final two rallies of the game and Dimitrov flubbed shots into the net. At 4-1, Dimitrov got broken again when he flubbed an easy volley long.

The American men didn’t fare well in Miami without anyone advancing in singles to the Round of 16.