The much-talked-about pairing of Emma Raducanu and Carlos Alcaraz fell to an early exit within the US Open’s mixed doubles competitors on Tuesday, dropping their first-round match and failing to win a set.
Raducanu and Alcaraz, who’ve each lifted the US Open singles title on this courtroom, misplaced 4-2, 4-2 towards prime seeds Jack Draper and Jessica Pegula, their partnership lasting simply 50 minutes inside Arthur Ashe Stadium.
The spotlight of their short-lived marketing campaign got here within the second set when Alcaraz hunted down a large and dipping backhand from Draper, swiping it down the road and receiving a glance of astonishment from Raducanu.
In a reimagined competition comprising virtually completely of singles specialists, Draper and Pegula fared higher than most, later defeating Mirra Andreeva and Daniil Medvedev 4-1, 4-1 for a spot within the semifinals.
“I don’t know what I was expecting, but I think it’s been pretty good so far, especially after not competing for a while,” stated Draper, who was enjoying his first matches since a second-round exit at Wimbledon final month.
“I’m happy with the way I’m playing. It’s all about having a good partner as well – that’s true.”
Pegula, a US Open singles finalist final yr, and Draper will play third seeds Iga Świątek and Casper Ruud for a spot within the ultimate on Wednesday.
Świątek and Alcaraz each lifted singles titles on the Cincinnati Open on Monday earlier than flying into New York on a personal jet, making for a busy and congested schedule with this yr’s mixed doubles occasion happening the week earlier than the principle event.
“Everyone should show some appreciation to Iga today because she got to her hotel 12 hours ago at 2:30 a.m. and she’s here playing, so thank you so much, Iga,” Ruud stated in an on-court interview after their quarterfinal win.
The new mixed doubles format has stirred controversy within the tennis neighborhood. Undoubtedly, there have been extra eyeballs on the occasion and followers have a singular alternative to see the sport’s greatest stars play alongside and towards one another, nevertheless it comes on the expense of doubles specialists dropping the possibility to win a grand slam.
The 16 pairs have been enjoying a shortened format of first to 4 video games throughout three units, with no benefit after deuce and a 10-point tie break as a substitute of a full third set.
Prize cash for the profitable pair stands at $1 million, an enormous improve of $800,000 from 2024.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the one doubles specialists within the draw – defending champions Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori – received each of their matches, defeating Elena Rybakina and Taylor Fritz and then Karolina Muchová and Andrey Rublev.
“Honestly, we felt a bit before stepping on court our mission was to play this tournament,” Vavassori instructed reporters. “We weren’t positive throughout the yr. For us, it was essential to ship a message earlier than the event.
“When we acquired the wild card … I used to be grateful to play. At least there weren’t so many doubles gamers. We are additionally enjoying for them. I feel it’s essential to point out additionally that doubles gamers are nice gamers.
“I think our main goal in the future will be to change a little bit the narrative because singles players are amazing on singles, but doubles players are amazing in doubles. If doubles players play against singles, sometimes they play better because they are more organized.”
Errani and Vavassori will proceed their title protection towards the American pairing of Danielle Collins and Christian Harrison, a last-minute entry into the competitors, in Wednesday’s semifinals.