4 weeks ago
9
When the US Open’s souped-up, $1million mixed doubles event was announced, it was greeted with wails of anger; when the field was unveiled there were squeals of excitement; now the jamboree is getting underway, the rising of the curtain is in danger of being greeted by a shrug of indifference.
From a British point of view - and for most of the world, actually - the most greedily awaited partnership was Emma Raducanu and Carlos Alcaraz. Aside from the creepy and unfounded speculation about a romantic involvement, they are two of the most famous players in the world and seeing how they interact on court will be fascinating. The problem is, that ‘will’ should probably be ‘would’.
For, with Alcaraz set to take on his great rival Jannik Sinner in the final of the Cincinnati Masters tonight at 8pm UK time, the chances of him taking the court with Raducanu less than 24 hours later should at least be questioned.
The Raducanu camp are understood to be confident the Spaniard will fulfil his obligation but will remain in close contact with team Alcaraz overnight. It is only a two-hour flight from Cincinnati to New York (and a private jet would shave off another 30 minutes) so it is doable - but is this really the way Alcaraz would wish to prepare for a shot at the US Open singles title?
And herein lies the problem with Flushing Meadows’ new vision for mixed doubles - by excluding all but a few of the specialists (entry is decided on singles and not doubles ranking) they have also excluded the players who care about winning it.
And so the field is looking a little less starry than on first reveal. Jack Draper - who all being well will face Raducanu in an enticing battle of Britain at 7pm UK time on Tuesday - has been forced to change partners with Henry VIII-esque frequency.
Carlos Alcaraz and Emma Raducanu are the biggest billing of the new-look mixed doubles but their partnership could be in jeopardy due to scheduling
British No 1 Jack Draper has been through three partners and counting ahead of the event
He was paired with Chinese gold-medal winner Qinwen Zheng, who pulled out after having elbow surgery. At the same time the event lost one of its most bankable pairings - and the winners of the Mixed Madness event which was a precursor last year - when tennis it-couple Paula Badosa and Stefanos Tsitsipas split up. If playing doubles with a significant other is awkward, playing with an ex is unthinkable.
So Tsitsipas withdrew and Badosa paired up with Draper. The Spaniard then scratched her nomination as her back issues continue, so Draper has ended up with American world No 4 Jessica Pegula - the best of the lot, and as the No 1 seeds, Jess and Jack should fancy their chances of scooping the combined first prize of a cool million bucks.
But that alliance is part of a swathe of hasty re-pairings which has left the event punctured and leaking legitimacy.
When the field was announced, there were a combined 18/20 from the current men’s and women’s top 10; that figure is down to 14. World No 1 Aryna Sabalenka was the biggest loss, and the USTA will have been extremely frustrated by the withdrawals of Emma Navarro and Tommy Paul - two Americans on whose loyalty they would have been depending.
The simple fact is that if there is any sense of the mixed doubles impinging on one of the top players’ singles campaign, they withdraw without hesitation. And so to tonight’s Cincinnati finals, with Sinner and Alcaraz to be followed by Iga Swiatek against Jasmine Paolini.
It is laughable that the USTA’s big new event is in danger of being severely compromised by an American tournament playing its finals on a Monday - rather than on Sunday as at every other event. Bob Moran, tournament director in Cincinnati, insists this is very far from his own choice, and that the Monday finish has been foisted on him by the ATP to give players more time to rest between matches.
It is a classic example of the sport failing to operate in lockstep, of the tours getting in each other’s way.
Paolini has already withdrawn from the mixed, meaning the colourful all-Italian pairing with Lorenzo Musetti has become a shrug-worthy pairing of Musetti and American world No 104 Caty McNally.
Fans were denied the return of 'Tsitsidosa' - the pairing of Stefanos Tsitsipas and Paula Badosa - when the real-life couple split up
Swiatek could well follow her out of the draw, and if Sinner and Alcaraz also prioritise rest over some hit-and-giggle doubles, the US Open’s field would be in ruins and they will be forced to scrabble around to fill the gaps. They might even have to ask some doubles players.
Speaking of doubles players, their anger remains. Even Jamie Murray - by a distance the more mild-mannered of the Scottish siblings - had some strong words. ‘They’ve obviously totally rigged it to get the top player participation,’ the 39-year-old told Mail Sport at Wimbledon. The gist of the doubles players’ argument - and it is a valid one - is that this event could have existed just fine as a big-money exhibition, without having to cannibalize the traditional US Open mixed doubles - which Murray himself has won three times.
‘I’m sure it’ll be a fun event but I don’t see why they couldn’t have just had both,’ argued Murray.
‘They’re not playing because it's the chance to win the mixed doubles Grand Slam. They’re playing because there's a s*** ton of money to be won.
‘Why could they not just have that event as an exhibition thing? Which, in reality, it kind of is.’
