Carlos Alcaraz and Emma Raducanu ’s first assignment as a pair faltered as they lost to Jack Draper and Jessica Pegula in the opening round of the revamped US Open mixed doubles in New York on Tuesday.
Home favourite Pegula and Brit Draper won 4-2 4-2 in the tournament that has $1m winning prize money at stake.
Alcaraz and Raducanu were seen to be having fun as they laughed and smiled in a match that was a precursor to the main singles event.
It was particularly taxing for Alcaraz as he had just played the final of Cincinnati Open a night before, eventually winning the title.
Carlos Alcaraz-Emma Raducanu: Possible Tennis Power Couple?
Alcaraz and Raducanu were one of the most anticipated pairs at the US Open mixed doubles ever since their partnership was announced. Earlier, they had been linked romantically by fans but the Brit star declined the rumours sating they were just friends.
The rumour mills starting running once again when Raducanu showed up at the spectator’s box to watch Alcaraz play at a Wimbledon match.
Pegula, who has been ranked world number one in the women’s doubles, and Draper were also a scratch pairing but were too good for opponents with little experience in tour-level doubles.
For Draper, it was third time lucky with Pegula- having seen previous planned partners Zheng Qinwen and Paula Badosa withdraw through injury.
Pegula and Draper’s class performance was more evident than some of the pairings, looking focused as they later beat Mirra Andreeva and Daniil Medvedev to reach the semifinals.
Also Read: Top 5 Tennis Tournaments With Highest Prize Money
US Open Mixed Doubles – Full Schedule and results
All times are in Eastern Time (UTC -4)
Tuesday, 19 August
Round 1
- Sara Errani/Andrea Vavassori d. Taylor Fritz/Elena Rybakina 4-2, 4-2
- Caty McNally/Lorenzo Musetti d. Gael Monfils/Naomi Osaka 5-3, 4-2
- Casper Ruud/Iga Swiatek d. Madison Keys/Frances Tiafoe 4-1, 4-2
- Ben Shelton/Taylor Townsend d. Amanda Anisimova/Holger Rune 4-2, 5-4 (7-2)
- Jack Draper/Jessica Pegula d. Carlos Alcaraz/Emma Raducanu 4-2, 4-2
- Mirra Andreeva/Daniil Medvedev d. Olga Danilovic/Novak Djokovic 4-2, 5-3
- Danielle Collins/Christian Harrison d. Belinda Bencic/Alexander Zverev 4-0, 5-3
- Karolina Muchova/Andrey Rublev d. Reilly Opelka/Venus Williams 4-2, 5-4 (7-4)
Quarter-finals
- Sara Errani/Andrea Vavassori d. Karolina Muchova/Andrey Rublev 4-1, 5-4 (7-4)
- Casper Ruud/Iga Swiatek d. Caty McNally/Lorenzo Musetti 4-1, 4-2
- Jack Draper/Jessica Pegula d. Mirra Andreeva/Daniil Medvedev 4-1, 4-1
- Danielle Collins/Christian Harrison d. Ben Shelton/Taylor Townsend 4-1, 5-4 (7-2)
Wednesday, 20 August
19:00 onwards – Semi-finals and final
- Sara Errani/Andrea Vavassori vs. Danielle Collins/Christian Harrison
- Casper Ruud/Iga Swiatek vs. Jack Draper/Jessica Pegula
