‘Mission completed’ – doubles specialists win US Open mixed title

Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori, Italian doubles champions, defeated Casper Ruud and Iga Swiatek in the controversially redesigned US Open mixed event to complete their “mission.”

With a thrilling 6-3, 5-7, 10-6 victory secured at nearly midnight in New York, Errani and Vavassori, whose position in the brand-new competition was initially in doubt, defended their title.

The pair won a $1 million ($740, 000) prize pot that was meant to draw famous people like Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz, and Swiatek, five times more than the $ 200, 000 ($148, 000) prize they won last year.

The 16-team draw’s singles players only recognized two pairs, with Errani and Vavassori being the only ones who were interested in the singles pairing.

For all the doubles players who were unable to participate in this competition, Errani said, “This is for them.”

We have a mission, Vavassori continued.

By Vavassori hoisting Errani into the air, the Italians cheered up by capturing another Grand Slam title and showing their appreciation to tournament organizers.

Opinion was divided when the US Open announced a “reimagination” of the mixed doubles, with a shorter scoring system in the first two rounds and a new scheduling slot before the singles draws.

In a joint statement, Errani and Vavassori criticized the organisers for what they perceived as a “profoundly wrong” move, which outraged the doubles players.

The pair eventually received a wildcard despite the pair’s combined singles rankings being too low for direct entry, but the majority of doubles experts were sidelined.

A congratulatory Swiatek waved to the winners and said, “I suppose you demonstrated that doubles players are smarter tactically than single players.”

After winning their opening two matches on Tuesday, Vavassori declared that they were competing against their peers, who were criticized for having more singles stars.

In Wednesday’s pivotal matchup, the pair defeated American duo Danielle Collins and Christian Harrison in the semi-finals before facing off against Swiatek and Ruud.

In the match tie-break between Pegula and Draper, third seeds Swiatek and Ruud rallied from 8-4 down to win the title, but they were unable to do so.

The finals night felt like business if the opening day occasionally had an exhibition atmosphere.

It started off with a traditional US Open showpiece event, featuring a group of US Marines standing in front of an unfurled Stars and Stripes flag, and patriotic rendition of the national anthem.

Many people believe that the mixed doubles’ status as a major title has been diminished by the overhaul. Some even place asterisks next to the champions.

Given that, the stadium announcer attempted to give each player’s Grand Slam résumé more legitimacy by outlining what winning the title would mean for them.

Given the characters’ willpower, the opening semi-final was fierce, which was another indication of how seriously it was being taken, with Ruud calling for a VAR-style check on a Pegula shot.

Following heated discussion between the opposing players, the umpire gave the impression that the American had not yet reached over the net, with Pegula and Draper using the momentum to win the opening set at 3-3 30-30.

However, Pegula’s clasp of her head after their 8-4 lead in the tie-break between the first and the last match summed up their bitter disappointment at not getting the trophy.

Unsurprisingly, Vavassori and Errani had a lot of energy.

One of the defining images was the pair’s semi-final victory, which resembled Hulk Hogan’s underarm bicep flexes.

While the crowd was still cheering on, the focus was still on entertaining the spectators.

A pair of DJs were perched behind courtside decks, and their task was to excite the crowd with a playlist featuring Jay-Z, Cyndi Lauper, and the Friends theme song, while the familiar sight of Celeb Cam and Dance Cam made things even more festive.

Anna Wintour, a fashion icon, recently resigned as the editor-in-chief of Vogue, adding more star-studded material to the nearly capacity crowd.