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Kiwi Erin Routliffe has been crowned US Open doubles champion after winning the final in straight sets with partner Gabriela Dabrowski, of Canada, today.

In only their fourth tournament together, they beat 2020 champions Laura Siegemund and Vera Zvonareva 7-6 (9), 6-3.

It was the first grand slam women\\u2019s doubles title for both Dabrowski, a Canadian, and Routliffe. The No 16 seeds in Flushing Meadows first paired up last month in Montreal.

The final lasted more than two hours. The last New Zealand woman to win a grand slam doubles title was Judy Connor in 1979, when she claimed the Australian Open title with Diane Evers.

After the lengthy tiebreaker in which both teams had set points, Dabrowski and Routliffe quickly seized control in the second set by breaking Zvonarena\\u2019s serve in the first game, then Siegemund\\u2019s in the third for a 3-0 lead.

The No 12 seeds won the next two games and were within 4-3 after Siegemund held during a lengthy game, but Dabrowski and Routliffe won the next two games to close it out.

An emotional Routliffe was close to tears at the awards ceremony, praising Dabrowski for taking her on as a teammate.

\\u201cShe really took a chance on me. I really appreciate it and love her for it and, obviously, I hope we get to have many great results to come in the future,\\u201d the Kiwi said.

The Canadian was equal in support.

\\u201cYou took a chance on me too,\\u201d Dabrowski said. \\u201cIt\\u2019s been a tough year for us both. I\\u2019m proud of the way we stood by each other through thick and thin the last two weeks. We improved a lot from the first tournament we played in Montreal. I am so grateful we\\u2019ve been able to work together.\\u201d

Siegemund and Zvonareva were playing in their first tournament together when they won the title at Flushing Meadows, with no fans attending because of Covid-19 restrictions. They have won four championships as a team.

Siegemund, who cried after being booed by fans for playing slowly when she lost to women\\u2019s singles champion Coco Gauff in the first round, was thankful to have them in Arthur Ashe Stadium on Sunday.

\\u201cIt was just great to play with people again, not like in 2020,\\u201d Siegemund said.

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