Draper-Pegula defeated highly anticipated Alcaraz-Raducanu pairing the US Open mixed doubles first round

The pair of British Jack Draper and American Jessica Pegula defeated Emma Raducanu and Carlos Alcaraz in straight sets at the revamped US Open mixed doubles event this season. 

At the Flushing Meadows, with a $1 million prize at stake, the Brit and American athletes were seen as a top-seeded pair. Draper and Pegula had also proven their strong chemistry on court as they won against Daniil Medvedev and Mirra Andreeva to reach the semi-finals of the tournament. 

With this, Draper expressed: “I’ve got a pretty good partner… What an experience playing out here against Emma and Carlos. It doesn’t get any better than this, so just a pleasure to be out here playing with such a good player.” 

Moreover, Pegula admitted that playing at the doubles event was such a ‘fun atmosphere’. She shared: “I played doubles a lot, haven’t played that much recently, so it’s always kind of tricky, especially going into a mixed format. It was a lot of fun. Jack played great.” 

Highlights of the match 

During the game, Draper and Pegula got an early lead. Alcaraz made a couple of mistakes with his first serves, and Draper took advantage of them. Draper was performing well on his game and took control of his service to go up 2-0.

Raducanu started hitting the ball in a great manner, managing engaging, intense backhand rallies with Pegula. Alcaraz also made some good volleys that Draper failed to return. 

Draper and Pegula broke Alcaraz’s serve after some good shots, then Pegula forced Raducanu to hit the ball long. This gave Draper and Pegula a 3-1 lead. 

Alcaraz and Raducanu seemed out of chances, but they saved three match points. They fought hard to get another break, taking the score to a tie again, but Draper took advantage of another mistake from Alcaraz, which led to their win. 

 

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On social media, fans expressed their support for the pair. One netizen commented that their performance was impressive. 

Another comment remarked: “Pegula and Draper are an unexpected duo, but one that tennis needed 🔥” 

After the mixed doubles event, this year’s US Open tennis tournament will commence on Aug 24 and will run until Sept 11, 2025.

The matches will happen at the Arthur Ashe Stadium, Louis Armstrong Stadium, and the Grandstand, and it is organised by the United States Tennis Association. The US Open is the last of the four tennis Grand Slams held each year. 

Know more about the US Open here.