Erin Routliffe has cemented her place at the top of the women's doubles rankings. Photo: Photosport
New Zealand tennis player Erin Routliffe has won the Cincinnati Open doubles titles, teaming up with Asia Muhammad of the US.
Routliffe is the world No 1-ranked doubles player and current US Open doubles champ.
She and Muhammad beat Leylah Fernandez from Canada and Kazakhstan's Yulia Putintseva in the final - winning 3-6, 6-1, 10-4 in one hour, 20 minutes.
Both teams struggled to convert break points, with Routliffe and Muhammad winning just two of the 12 they had, while Fernandez and Putintseva were one from 10.
The key to the win for Routliffe and Muhammad was their ability to win the the sudden-death deuce points, which are such a crucial part of doubles matches on the WTA circuit.
They won six of the eight deciding points, which kept them in a final that was decided by small margins.
Even getting to the final seemed a long shot for Routliffe and Muhammad as they had to save a match point in their quarterfinal clash against Demi Schuurs and Luisa Stefani.
This was Routliffe's fifth appearance in a WTA 1000 final. On the previous four occasions, she finished runner-up - three times with her regular partner Gaby Dabrowski and once with Coco Gauff, at the Italian Open.
This title extends Routliffe's points lead over everyone else at the top of the world rankings. She will be on 9550 points when they are next updated, while the Czech Republic's Katerina Siniakova - who lost in the quarterfinals in Cincinnati - will be on 8470, boosting Routliffe's chances of ending the year at No 1.
-RNZ