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The superstar pairing of Serena Williams and Carlos Alcaraz made a winning debut Tuesday, shrugging off early cobwebs in the opening round of the U.S. Open's mixed doubles tournament, while another heavyweight duo, Novak Djokovic and Aryna Sabalenka, suffered an upset exit on the same day at Flushing Meadows.
Williams, playing her first competitive match in Arthur Ashe Stadium since her 2022 retirement, paired with Spain's Alcaraz, himself back after a lengthy injury layoff, to advance to the quarter-finals in straight sets.
Williams, a six-time U.S. Open singles champion, and Alcaraz, a two-time winner and defending men's singles champion, defeated the British-New Zealand pair of Lloyd Glasspool and Emma Routliffe 5-3, 3-1.
The match began inauspiciously for the high-wattage pairing, with Alcaraz double-faulting and losing serve. But the dream team turned the tide midway through the opening set of the shortened-format competition, breaking back to level and then breaking again in the set's final game.
At 30-30, Williams let out a trademark roar as she rifled a forehand return winner cross-court and out of reach. Alcaraz matched her on the next point, sealing the set with a big forehand passing shot up the line.
Afterward, Alcaraz acknowledged feeling "really, really nervous" at the outset, noting he had been out for more than four months. But Williams "made it really easy," said the Spaniard, who also saluted the crowd. The pair will next face Belinda Bencic of Switzerland and Flavio Cobolli of Italy.
Elsewhere at Arthur Ashe Stadium, former world number one Novak Djokovic and four-time Grand Slam champion Aryna Sabalenka were sent tumbling out of the tournament by Czech Katerina Siniakova and Britain's Henry Patten.
Doubles specialists Siniakova and Patten recovered from dropping the opening set to win 1-4, 4-2 before cruising to a 10-2 win in the decisive third-set tie-break.
Despite taking the first set, the Serbian great and Belarusian star were unable to respond when Siniakova and Patten, ranked No. 1 in the world in women's and men's doubles, respectively, improved in the second set. Siniakova and Patten will next face France's Gael Monfils and Elina Svitolina in the quarter-finals.
The U.S. Open holds its mixed doubles event in the days before the main draw of the singles championship, which gets underway on Sunday.
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