Americans Caroline Dolehide and Desirae Krawczyk captured their first Hologic WTA Tour title together as a pair on Monday night in Toronto, and it was a big one. The third seeds defeated No.1 seeds Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe in a match tiebreak 7-6(2), 3-6, [10-7] to end the National Bank Open with a U.S. sweep -- following Jessica Pegula's win over Amanda Anisimova in an all-American singles final at the WTA 1000 event.
Toronto: Scores | Draws | Order of Play
The two compatriots started playing together largely on a full-time basis after the Australian Open, and previously finished as runners-up at the Qatar Total Open in Doha in February. Their 1-hour and 47-minute win was a measure a revenge for their straight-sets defeat at the hands of Dabrowski and Routliffe in the semifinals of Wimbledon last month.
Krawczyk now owns 11 career doubles titles, and has won at least one every year since 2018. Dolehide's second career doubles title snaps a four-match skid in championship matches dating back to the first Hologic WTA Tour trophy she won in Monterrey with Asia Muhammad in 2021.
"It's a privilege to play with someone who's so good," Dolehide said of her partner. "We've had some great times together ... we've been pretty much everywhere this year, so to get this title here means so much.
"It's always such a struggle playing [Dabrowski and Routliffe] -- your presence is so massive at the net, at the baseline, everywhere. So we got the win tonight, it was a really close match ... you guys are incredible."
Tor-on-top of the world! 🏆
— wta (@WTA) August 13, 2024
The Americans, Caroline Dolehide and @desiraekrawczyk, defeat Dabrowski/Routliffe 7-6(2), 3-6, 1-0(7).#NBO24 pic.twitter.com/VVbYBWC5ks
Dabrowski and Routliffe had two opportunities to win the first set with Routliffe serving at 5-4. At 40-30, Dolehide pounced on a backhand return that landed just inside the baseline past a landing Routliffe. On the subsequent deciding point, she feathered a lob over Routliffe's head that elicited a short reply from the Kiwi, which Krawczyk finished off with a forehand volley into Dabrowski's body.
The Americans thrived in other pressure moments, too, in the two tiebreaks -- just as they did all week. They won the first five points of the opening set breaker, and the last three points of the match after Dabrowski and Routliffe leveled the decider at 7-7 from 7-4 behind.
Four of Dolehide and Krawczyk's five wins at the tournament came in match tiebreaks, and their only straight-sets victory was a 7-6(5), 7-6(6) win over Pegula and Giuliana Olmos in the quarterfinals.
The Canadian-born Routliffe, who competes for New Zealand, and Ontario's own Dabrowski were seeking their fourth title as a pair and second this year -- and Dabrowski was bidding to add a second crown in her home country to the victory she earned in 2021 with Luisa Stefani.
little bit of luck, loads of ✨skill✨#NBO24 pic.twitter.com/qnp5GTQQ1v
— wta (@WTA) August 13, 2024
"This is a dream come true to play in this final," Routliffe, who calls Caledon, Ontario home, said. "It's the first pro event I ever came to as a little girl. Hopefully, next time, we can get one better."