Tennis stars, Zverev and Bencic, advance swiftly in the US Open's mixed doubles tournament.
In the ongoing US Open, Alexander Zverev and Belinda Bencic faced an unexpected challenge in the mixed doubles competition. Their opponents, Danielle Collins and Christian Harrison, took advantage of the opportunity presented by the withdrawal of Jannik Sinner, who was originally scheduled to play against the pair.
The match was largely one-sided, with Zverev and Bencic committing too many unforced errors. The duo, who won Olympic gold in 2021, struggled in the first set, appearing virtually powerless. A double fault from Bencic ended the match after just 41 minutes.
Zverev, currently ranked third in the world, was dealing with physical issues from his run at the Cincinnati Masters 1000 event. Unlike Sinner, he decided to play in the US Open mixed doubles despite the Ohio heat and an extra day to recover.
The US Open mixed doubles competition is being held mid-week before the main draw of the Grand Slam tournament and over just two days (19 and 20 August). The matches in the competition take place in the main stadiums, and a total of 16 teams are vying for the title.
Eight spots in the competition were filled by wildcards. Notably, the title defenders who continued participating were the Italian duo Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori. The prize money for the winning team has been increased to one million US dollars.
There has been criticism of the new format of the US Open mixed doubles competition. Some players and fans argue that it takes attention away from the main singles competition, which begins next Sunday.
Despite Zverev's struggles, he has not been the only top star to encounter difficulties in the mixed doubles competition. The competition was not the first tournament where Zverev struggled due to physical issues.
The second round of the revamped US Open mixed doubles competition will take place on Tuesday (local time). The semifinals and final are scheduled for Wednesday. The outcome of the matches beyond the first round was not explicitly mentioned in the search results at the time of writing.
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