It’s hard to argue with what the US Open has done with its mixed doubles tournament after Tuesday. The star-studded 16-team field contested two rounds of the tournament in a fast and furious format that featured sets to four, no-ad scoring and a match tiebreak in lieu of a third set.
Maybe it wasn’t one for the purists, but it was pure entertainment.
Winning teams advanced to the quarterfinals and prepared to play another match in rapid fashion, as the matches clicked by at an almost dizzying pace. Fans on site at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center either paid to see the action inside Arthur Ashe Stadium – face-value tickets started in the $30-$40 range – or entered Louis Armstrong Stadium for free.
Amidst a full slate of first-round qualifying matches, on-site entertainment and practice-court viewing, the atmosphere was highly festive in Flushing, and for good reason.
Fans who ponied up the cash got to see Serena Williams make her return to the US Open alongside Carlos Alcaraz. The pair scored a doubles victory over Erin Routliffe and Lloyd Glasspool and played with spine-tingling intensity in the process. What a bargain: every fan who was inside Ashe on a perfect summer afternoon will likely be able to say they saw a once-in-a-lifetime pairing – one that they’ll never see again.
The excitement was palpable. The tennis was even better.
Alcaraz and Williams met their match in their second contest, and full credit to Belinda Bencic and Flavio Cobolli, who are still feeling the chemistry and good vibes that took them to the mixed title in Indian Wells in March.
“To play with Serena, I never expected in my life,” Cobolli said. “But it was something incredible. I know that we [are from two] different generations, but she still is unbelievable on the court.”
Then he added in true Cobollian fashion: “She tried to intimidate me before the match, but it didn’t work.”
Novak Djokovic and Aryna Sabalenka couldn’t hang on to defeat Katerina Siniakova and Henry Patten, but Gael Monfils and Elina Svitolina were another shining beacon on Tuesday. The happily married duo reached the semifinals and wowed fans with some breathtaking tennis in the process.
“Today has been a great experience, obviously playing with Elina,” Monfils, who is playing his last US Open, later said. “For me definitely the first time and the last time.”
In Louis Armstrong Stadium, fans were treated to an all-Czech pairing of Jakub Mensik and Karolina Muchova – an intriguing duo with so much to offer. On court after their first win, Mensik admitted that it was his first time playing mixed doubles since he was around nine years old.
Mensik and Muchova, both sponsored by Adidas, came out in matching burgundy kits. They looked sharp, and by the end of their second match, they were playing like a well-oiled machine.
“No, it’s definitely one of the most important things, to look good on the court,” Mensik said.
There was also the surprise performance of Andrey Rublev and Mirra Andreeva, the team that emerged to meet Mensik and Muchova in the semis.
“It’s true that we played really well, both matches,” Rublev said. “Mirra is something special, and I’m really happy to share the court with her.”
Rublev said that his team’s haphazard preparations – or lack thereof – actually worked well for them.
“We didn’t even prepare, we didn’t even do anything,” he said. “But somehow it worked pretty well for us.”
The words of the players capture the essence of Tuesday’s action, and the three-day mixed doubles tournament as well. It’s loose. It’s light. It’s a whole lotta fun. If you watched, surely you agree. Doubles teams were given a shot to show up and make a statement, as they did last year when Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori won the inaugural tournament in the new format. They weren’t so lucky today.
No matter who ended up reaching the semis, Tuesday’s lineup was always going to be tough to top. You had a 24-time major singles champion and a 23-time major singles champion on the same court. You had the defending men’s singles champion making his comeback to the game. You had Monfils and Svitolina playing together for the first time.
For all of this to be happening during qualifying week, with the grounds buzzing and smiles abounding, says a lot about the value this mixed doubles format adds to the tournament. Clearly, the US Open is going to great lengths to make this event work. It shows in the lineup they were able to put on court.
Judging by the reaction we saw around the grounds, in the press room and on the 7 train heading back to Manhattan, the effort was greatly appreciated.
The semifinals will take place on Wednesday evening inside Arthur Ashe, and the tournament will boast a lineup of singles stars that features this year’s Roland Garros champion Andreeva, as well as former major finalists Muchova and Cobolli.
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