Laura Siegemund narrowly missed out on her third title at the US Open. The 35-year-old lost in the doubles final alongside Russian Vera Svonareva against Gabriela Dabrowski (Canada) and Erin Routliffe (New Zealand) 6:7 (9:11), 3:6.
Three years ago, Siegemund/Svonareva triumphed in New York, and the Swabian also won the mixed competition in Flushing Meadows in 2016.
For reaching the final, the German-Russian duo will receive $350,000 in prize money, little consolation given the chances that Siegemund and Svonareva (39) had, especially in the first round.
They missed five break points and two set points in the gigantic Arthur Ashe Stadium, which was only sparsely attended before the men’s final between Novak Djokovic and Daniil Medvedev. After all, Martina Navratilova, 16-time US Open winner, was watching.
For Siegemund it was a return with mixed feelings. In the first individual round on the largest tennis stage in the world, she brought the eventual tournament winner Coco Gauff (USA) to the brink of defeat and incurred the wrath of the fans. Siegemund then tearfully complained about the lack of respect.
But even before the final she assured: “I have made peace with the situation in the Gauff singles.”
Siegemund needs to seek treatment
There were no expressions of displeasure from the audience in the doubles final, not even when Siegemund was treated on the court when the score was 0:3 in the second set.
The short break helped Siegemund and Svonareva find their way back into the match, but after 2:15 hours Dabrowski/Routliffe converted their third match point into their first major doubles title.
For Dabrowski it was the third Grand Slam title after the mixed successes in Paris (2017) and Melbourne (2018).