DOHA — Top seeds Gabriela Dabrowski of Ottawa and Erin Routliffe of New Zealand were emphatically eliminated from the women's doubles competition at the Qatar Open tennis tournament with a 6-2, 6-1 loss to Russians Mirra Andreeva and Diana Shnaider.
The Russians needed just 56 minutes to post the win.
They saved both break points they faced while breaking Dabrowski and Routliffe four times on six chances.
In a dominant second set, Andreeva and Shnaider won 14-of-17 first-serve points, compared to 4-of-8 for their favoured opponents.
The rare early exit for Dabrowski and Routliffe, the reigning WTA Finals doubles champions, comes on the heels of a run to the semifinals at last month's Australian Open.
Later Wednesday, world No. 27 Leylah Fernandez of Laval, Que., was scheduled to face Amanda Anisimova of the United States in a third-round women's singles match at the WTA 1000 level tournament.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 12, 2025.
The Canadian Press
