New Zealander Erin Routliffe sits 55th in the world doubles rankings. Photo / Getty
New Zealander Erin Routliffe sits 55th in the world doubles rankings. Photo / Getty
New Zealand doubles tennis players Erin Routliffe and Artem Sitak will be teaming up with high-profile singles players for the Australian Open next month.
Routliffe, 55th in the doubles rankings, is reuniting with young Canadian Leylah Fernandez, while Sitak will join forces with the 18th-ranked singles player, Russian Aslan Karatsev.
Routliffe and Fernandez played together at the US Open last September, reaching the third round of the doubles, with 19-year-old Fernandez making a sizzling run through to the singles final where she lost to 18-year-old Brit Emma Raducanu.
Fernandez is ranked 24 in singles ahead of the new season and the pair will play together at the WTA 500 tournament in Adelaide in the first week of January.
"We casually talked about it after the US Open and then we had the rest of the season to try and figure it out. Then when I finished my season in the second week of November, I reached out again to her, and we decided we would play together for Australia, so I'm really excited to get to play with her again," Routliffe said.
It's a partnership that flourished in New York where Routliffe achieved her best Grand Slam doubles result. The 26-year-old Kiwi says their games complement each other.
"I think tennis-wise I probably bring a little bit more power and then she brings a little bit more accuracy and consistency." Routliffe said. "She still hits a really big ball from the back of the court and at the net she has really good hands, and I love being at the net.
"Personality-wise we just like to keep each other focused and calm but still have a really good time and we bring each other up when we need to be up, so I think we both just keep each other really positive. That's probably where the success came from so hopefully, we can do that again."
Being a singles player Fernandez will only play one tournament before the Australian Open so Routliffe will team up with Poland's Alicja Rosolska for one of the tournaments the week before the Australian Open.
Sitak endured a difficult year on tour, slipping to 110 in the doubles rankings, and needed to find a highly-ranked singles player to play with to get into the Australian Open.
Karatsev was a virtual unknown before his run from qualifying to the Australian Open semifinals in February this year, and he went on to play an outstanding season and finish the year in the top 20. He was named the ATP's most improved player in 2021.
"I have known him for a long time, back when he was 250 or 300 in the rankings. I kept saying to everybody, 'How is this guy 250 or 300? He has a game to be at least top 50'," Sitak said.
"I then played against him in a Challenger tournament, and he beat me in doubles, and he was amazing. I walked of the court wondering how the guy was ranked so low. So, his success has not come as a surprise to me at all.
Artem Sitak needed a highly-ranked singles player to play with to get into the Australian Open. Photo / Getty
"Something clicked obviously in his game and his approach - maybe his mental state - and we've been friends for a long time. I asked him to play a bunch of tournaments in the last year, we almost got together but it didn't work out in the end, because he's obviously focusing on a lot of singles.
"But this time it was it was pretty easy. I asked him early enough, just, 'Hey, do you want to play Australian Open together?' And he said, 'Sure, let's do it'. So, it's a big change to my usual grinding and trying to find the partner for several weeks or months."
Sitak will start the year playing back-to-back ATP 250 tournaments in Adelaide with Korean Kwon Soon-woo who is a top 100 singles player and helped beat New Zealand in the Davis Cup tie in Newport last September.
The other New Zealand representatives at the Australian Open will be top-ranked doubles player Michael Venus (15) and Marcus Daniell (51).
Venus will again team with German Tim Puetz and are likely to be the seventh seeds. The pair had an outstanding six months together in 2021 and despite playing only half the season, made it to the ATP Finals in Turin as alternates and won the Paris Masters title together, one of the biggest tournaments outside the Grand Slams.
Venus will however start the year at the ATP tournament in Melbourne with a different partner, India's Yuki Bhambri, whom Venus played with at Challenger level several times from 2013 to 2015.
Puetz is playing for Germany at the ATP Cup, and will reunite with Venus for the Australian Open.
Daniell is starting the year with the player he finished 2021 with, Brazil's Marcelo Demoliner, and the pair will open their season at the ATP event in Melbourne in the first week of January and are committed to playing together through until the end of the Australian Open swing at least.
Queenstown-born Kiwi Ben McLachlan, who represents Japan, is again teaming with South Africa's Raven Klaasen and the pair will start their season at the Melbourne ATP tournament before the Australian Open.
