NEW YORK (AP) — Aryna Sabalenka and Novak Djokovic will have to hope to win another U.S. Open singles title. They were no match for two of the top doubles players in tennis.
Sabalenka and Djokovic started strong but couldn't hold on, falling 1-4, 4-2 (10-2) to Katerina Siniakova and Henry Patten on Tuesday in the first round of the mixed doubles tournament.
Siniakova, ranked No. 1 in women's doubles, ended the match with an ace while serving to Djokovic.
“Kat acing Novak on match point was pretty fun,” Patten said after the match, before a quick turnaround to play their quarterfinal match against the married pair of Elina Svitolina and Gael Monfils.
Serena Williams and Carlos Alcaraz were in action later in the first round of the 16-team event, which offers a $1 million prize to the winning team.
The tournament was overhauled last year in an effort to get more top singles players to compete. It was moved to a two-day event well before the singles main draw begins, with a scoring format that guarantees quick matches that shouldn't tax the players too much.
Sabalenka, the two-time defending U.S. Open women's champion, and 24-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic are exactly the types of players the U.S. Tennis Association was seeking. They had the No. 1 seed based on the lowest combined singles ranking of any team, but their loss was far from an upset.
Patten is ranked No. 1 in men's doubles, and he and Siniakova turned things around after Sabalenka and Djokovic stormed through the first set in 12 minutes, then got an early break in the second.
Svitolina and Monfils routed Alex Eala and Felix Auger-Aliassime 4-1, 4-1. Also, Karolina Muchova and Jakub Mensik edged Kristina Mladenovic and Marcelo Arevalo 4-1, 2-4 (10-7).
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