Dellacqua pumped to double up in New York

Casey Dellacqua wasted no time shifting her focus to an overdue doubles breakthrough following her premature exit from the US Open singles draw.

Unable to replicate her fine run to the fourth round last year, Dellacqua faces a rankings dip to 75th in the world after going down 7-5 6-2 to Estonian qualifier Anett Kontaveit on Monday.

But the 30-year-old was philosophical in defeat.

“I came up against a girl that was full of confidence coming through qualifying, playing well and unfortunately I didn’t bring my best stuff,” Dellacqua said.

“She’s 20, she’s got nothing to lose, she was going to throw the kitchen sink at me and she did – and she did it well.

“Credit to her.”

The bubbly West Australian still has much to look forward to at Flushing Meadows.

Ranked fifth in the Race to Singapore, Dellacqua and Kazakh partner Yaroslava Shvedova are on track to make the elite eight-team season-ending championships.

Despite only pairing up this year, Dellacqua and Shvedova have fast emerged as one of the game’s most formidable all-court duos.

In just six events, they’ve won the title on clay in Madrid and made the French Open final, plus the quarters on grass at Wimbledon and the final on cement in Cincinnati.

“I’ve had a great year playing with Slava,” Dellacqua said.

“We’re doing well together so I’m definitely pumped and ready for the doubles for sure.

“It would be fantastic if we could make the championships. That’s definitely a goal for us.

“We’ve only played a handful of tournaments together so any result is good for us with that spot.”

A five-times runner-up in grand slam women’s doubles finals, Dellacqua is also hoping to finally land a big one in New York.

Stay up to date with the latest sports news
Follow our social accounts to get exclusive content and all the latest sporting news!