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Although Emma Raducanu and Carlos Alcaraz may have lost the redesigned US Open mixed doubles, they undoubtedly won the fans in New York.

British players Raducanu and Alcaraz lost out on a $1 million prize at Arthur Ashe Stadium as a result of a drunken partygoer.

The losing pair at Flushing Meadows received a sizable crowd to support them despite Pegula’s presence at home.

In the new shortened format, which is a part of the US Open’s “reimagination” of the mixed doubles, Pegula and Draper won 4-2 4-2.

In order to attract the stars, the event has also been moved forward a week before the singles main draws.

Many of the pre-tournament headlines were caused by Raducanu and Alcaraz working together for the opulent event, which has incontroversially deviated from its traditional format and polarized opinion.

Given that Alcaraz competed in the final of an ATP match on Monday in Cincinnati, there was a chance they wouldn’t turn out.

Fans danced to tunes played by an on-court DJ and acted up when appearing on the big screen as they paid between $25 (£18.50) and $145 (£145) for what British doubles player Jamie Murray called a “glorified exhibition” continued to create a rousing atmosphere.

The stars are using the event to prepare for their higher priority of the singles, with both sets of players laughing and laughing throughout.

Some people were drawn in by the viewpoint of the doubles experts that a Grand Slam event had lost value.

Although they were a scratch pairing, Pegula and Draper struggled against a pair with less tour-level doubles experience. Both pair have been ranked world number one in the women’s doubles.

Due to the injury-related withdrawals of previous planned partners Zheng Qinwen and Paula Badosa, Draper had a third chance.

Sara Errani and Andrea Vavussori, the reigning mixed doubles champions, criticized the decision as “a profound injustice” when word about the US Open’s plans first surfaced in February.

Many doubles specialists have since shared their concerns, including that many have expressed concerns about losing a significant source of income after being turned down by the stars.

The 16-team draw ended with Errani and Vavussori being the only specialist doubles pairing in the draw.

The Italian duo competed like they had a point to prove as they opened the day’s play on Flushing Meadows’ second show court, Louis Armstrong Stadium.

Elena Rybakina and Taylor Fritz, who had previously defeated them in a 4-2 4-2 opening game, received loud and clear passion roars.

With a 4-1, 5-4, 7-4) victory over Karolina Muchova and Andrey Rublev, the team showed more emotion when they advanced to the semi-finals on Wednesday.

Alexander Isak says promises have been “broken” by Newcastle United and “the relationship can’t continue” as he looks to force through an exit this summer.

Nineteen days have passed since Newcastle rejected Liverpool’s £110m bid for the Sweden international, who remains in a stand-off with the club over his future.

BBC Sport understands Isak believed he would be allowed to leave Newcastle if a big club came in for him and offered the right price.

On Tuesday, Isak posted a statement on Instagram to explain why he was not in attendance at the Professional Footballers’ Association’s awards gala, where he was named in the Premier League team of the season.

“I’ve kept quiet for a long time while others have spoken,” he wrote.

“That silence has allowed people to push their own version of events, even though they know it doesn’t reflect what was really said and agreed behind closed doors.

“The reality is that promises were made and the club has known my position for a long time. To now act as if these issues are only emerging is misleading.

“When promises are broken and trust is lost, the relationship can’t continue. That’s where things are for me right now – and why change is in the best interests of everyone, not just myself.”

In a later statement, a “disappointed” Newcastle said: “We are clear in response that Alex remains under contract and that no commitment has ever been made by a club official that Alex can leave Newcastle United this summer.

“We want to keep our best players, but we also understand players have their own wishes and we listen to their views. As explained to Alex and his representatives, we must always take into consideration the best interests of Newcastle United, the team and our supporters in all decisions and we have been clear that the conditions of a sale this summer have not transpired. We do not foresee those conditions being met.”

Isak has been the biggest talking point of the summer window, which closes on 1 September.

But Liverpool are yet to return with an improved offer for the 25-year-old.

Will the Reds bid again? Will he rejoin first-team training in the meantime? What happens if a deal is not completed by the 1 September deadline day?

To explain this we need to look at Newcastle’s transfers so far.

After a frustrating summer window, their business has started to pick up.

They signed midfielder Jacob Ramsey from Aston Villa for £40m on Sunday, after securing AC Milan defender Malick Thiaw for a reported £34.6m earlier in the week.

This added to July’s £55m signing of Nottingham Forest winger Anthony Elanga and the loan signing of England goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale early in August.

But there is one glaring omission.

None of these are strikers – and they really needed one before Isak’s future was thrown into question after the departure of Callum Wilson.

Sources have told BBC Sport one reason there hasn’t yet been a follow-up bid is that any move would be reliant on Newcastle getting two strikers through door.

Newcastle have maintained publicly that Isak isn’t for sale, but Liverpool know they are looking for two strikers for a reason.

When – or perhaps if – Newcastle do, Liverpool are expected to ramp up their interest with another bid.

So that focuses the mind on to Newcastle’s striker hunt.

Eddie Howe made no bones about it at the weekend.

“It’s not like we are looking at any other area,” the Newcastle head coach said following his side’s goalless draw against Aston Villa on Saturday.

But securing a replacement for Wilson has proved challenging enough – let alone a second additional striker.

Newcastle remain interested in Yoane Wissa but have not yet met Brentford’s asking price of in excess of £40m.

The DR Congo forward, who was left out of the squad for Sunday’s 3-1 loss at Nottingham Forest, wants to join Newcastle.

Although Jorgen Strand Larsen is among a small number of centre-forwards on Newcastle’s radar, Wolves do not want to lose him.

Larsen, only completed a permanent move to Molineux last month after a successful loan spell in which he scored 14 goals in the Premier League.

The club have already let Matheus Cunha and Rayan Ait-Nouri go this summer.

Larsen and Wissa illustrate the difficulty Newcastle face, at this stage of the window, to convince a side to part with another key player.

After missing out on a number of targets this summer, it felt like there had been a shift in momentum in the last week after completed moves for Thiaw and Ramsey.

But don’t forget Newcastle have seen top targets like Hugo Ekitike, Benjamin Sesko and Joao Pedro move elsewhere this summer.

These strikers ended up at Liverpool, Manchester United and Chelsea respectively and as well as facing intense competition from such clubs, there are other factors at play.

Take replacing Wilson, for instance.

Firstly, centre-forwards want minutes so there were not necessarily a queue of quality frontmen lining up to play a supporting role before Isak stopped training with the group.

Secondly, goalscorers are expensive.

Newcastle may be in a much stronger financial position this summer after substantial historic losses dropped out of the club’s new three-year Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR) cycle.

But they still have to be smart to sign what those behind the scenes call the “right” player.

There is not a long list of targets and Newcastle have found that when one coveted striker has potentially become available this summer, his price has then gone up.

That remains a big ‘if’, of course.

Howe has been consistent in his messaging throughout this saga: the door remains open to Isak.

But the Newcastle head coach stressed what happens next is down to the striker, who continues to train away from the group.

In their statement on Tuesday night, Newcastle said: “This is a proud football club with proud traditions and we strive to retain our family feel. Alex remains part of our family and will be welcomed back when he is ready to rejoin his team-mates.”

It certainly felt a long way back for Isak on Saturday after the away end called the Swede “greedy” following the goalless draw against Aston Villa.

Yet time is against Isak if he is to get a move to Liverpool, particularly when there are few realistic options left on the market who would be capable of stepping up for Newcastle.

Omar Chaudhuri, the chief intelligence officer of Twenty First Group, who previously worked with clubs like Newcastle and Tottenham, has noticed a “greater interest in top-class strikers” compared to years gone by.

“Globally, there have been seven centre forwards moving for 50m euros or more this window, compared to two in 2024, six in 2023, and five in 2022,” he said.

“But clubs should probably temper expectations as to their impact. Of the 19 strikers signed by Premier League clubs for 50m euros or more before this season, perhaps, only Haaland and Isak can be considered unqualified successes.”

No wonder Howe has maintained that the door is open.