Patient, hard-working Canadian Gabriela Dabrowski grabs elusive Madrid doubles title
Jabeur tops Pegula in women's final; Alcaraz to face Zverev in men's final
Canada's Gabriela Dabrowski captured her first doubles title of the season, winning the Madrid Open with Mexican partner Giuliana Olmos on Saturday.
The No. 2 seeds defeated third-seeded Demi Schuurs of the Netherlands and Desirae Krawcyk of the U.S., 7-6(1), 5-7, 10-7.
The win was Dabrowski's first in three appearances in the Madrid final after the Ottawa native reached the championship match in 2021 (with Schuurs) and in 2019 (with Yifan Xu).
"It's been amazing to be back and enjoy Madrid," Dabrowski said. "I love this city a lot and this is actually my third final in a row here, so I guess third time is the charm. We had a bit of a slow start this season, but we stuck it out, we worked together and we played a great tournament."
WATCH | Dabrowski earns her 3rd WTA 1000 doubles title:
Dabrowski and Olmos reached their first final Saturday in nine tournaments playing together. Their previous best was in 2021 in Miami where they lost in the semifinals.
They had a tough time in Madrid, overcoming a one-set deficit in two of their three matches this week.
They reversed that trend in Saturday's final with a stunning first-set win in which six breaks — three on each side — were recorded. Energized by having the lead, Dabrowski and Olmos picked up the pace, winning back-to-back games for the first time in the match to take control of the second set at 2-0.
Schuurs and Krawcyk mounted a comeback, breaking Dabrowski and Olmos in the eighth game to level the match at 4-4. They closed the set at 7-5 to extend the match.
A resilient Dabrowski and Olmos won their third straight super tiebreak for the victory.
Dabrowski now has three WTA 1000 doubles titles, including Montreal last year and Miami in 2017.
Jabeur tops Pegula in women's final
In the women's final, Ons Jabeur of Tunisia won her biggest career title by defeating Jessica Pegula of the U.S. in three sets.
Jabeur, the first Arab woman in the top 10, won 7-5, 0-6, 6-3 for her second career title.
Pegula, a one-time tour winner, will reach a career-high No. 11 ranking on Monday.
WATCH | Jabeur becomes 1st African player to win WTA 1000 event:
Alcaraz beats Djokovic to reach men's final
Rafael Nadal one day. Novak Djokovic the other.
The list of victims of Spanish teenager Carlos Alcaraz keeps growing.
And so does the hype over tennis' newest sensation.
After defeating his idol Nadal in the quarter-finals on Friday, the 19-year-old Alcaraz rallied to beat top-ranked Djokovic 6-7 (5), 7-5, 7-6 (5) after more than 3 1/2 hours on Saturday to reach the men's final.
"It was one of those matches to enjoy," Alcaraz said. "Despite the tension, despite being the semifinals of a Masters 1000, being 7-6 in the third-set tiebreaker … I've enjoyed it. Until the last point I was being able to smile."
UN MOMENTO QUE RECORDAREMOS SIEMPRE 🤯<br><br>Así completaba 🇪🇸 <a href="https://twitter.com/alcarazcarlos03?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@alcarazcarlos03</a> una victoria histórica ante 🇷🇸 <a href="https://twitter.com/DjokerNole?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DjokerNole</a> en la Caja Mágica.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MMOPEN?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MMOPEN</a> <a href="https://t.co/ioChvbtLF2">pic.twitter.com/ioChvbtLF2</a>
—@MutuaMadridOpenAlcaraz converted on his third match point to clinch the victory — his 27th of the year — in front of a raucous home crowd on the Caja Magica center court.
"To play against the No. 1 player in the world, in front of this crowd here in Madrid, it's incredible," he said.
A win on Sunday will give Alcaraz his fourth title this season, the most of any player.
Alcaraz, the youngest player in the top 10 since Nadal in 2005, has won this year in Miami, Rio de Janeiro and Barcelona.
He beat Nadal for the first time on Friday, and triumphed against Djokovic in their first match.
Zverev advances with win over Tsitsipas
Alcaraz will face defending champion Alexander Zverev, who defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4, 3-6, 6-2. The second-seeded German player converted three of his five break opportunities to clinch the victory in nearly two hours in match that ended after 1 a.m. local time.
Zverev is now 19-2 in Madrid, where he also won the title in 2018.
Alcaraz lost both matches he played against Zverev, all last year on hard courts.
The fourth-seeded Tsitsipas had beaten Zverev in the Monte Carlo semifinals earlier this year.
With files from The Associated Press
