By Amy Tennery
NEW YORK (Reuters) -Italians Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori retained their mixed doubles title at the U.S. Open on Wednesday, overcoming Iga Swiatek and Casper Ruud 6-3 5-7 10-6 in the competition’s reimagined format that drew some of the top singles players.
The defending champions, who needed a wild card entry into the competition that prioritised singles rankings, relied on their veteran experience to outfox the Polish-Norwegian duo.
The packed house at Arthur Ashe Stadium cheered wildly when Vavassori clinched it with a lethal forehand and hoisted Errani into the air in celebration, as the pair walked away with a $1 million prize.
“We are doing something in these two years amazing,” said Vavassori, who also won the French Open title with Errani earlier this year. “We showed today that doubles is a great product.”
Swiatek and Ruud had never played together before this year and at first appeared completely outmatched as the Italians went up 3-0 in the first set.
Six-times Grand Slam singles champion Swiatek broke back with a superbly placed volley in the seventh game but that momentum evaporated as her double fault helped the defending champions to another break in the eighth.
Vavassori then closed the first set with an unreturnable serve.
The Italians went up a break in the second set in the seventh game but Ruud and Swiatek broke back in the 10th and levelled the match when the Pole struck a backhand winner in the 12th.
Errani and Vavassori went up 4-0 in the tiebreak and were helped to the finish line after a double fault from Swiatek.
“We pushed to the end, we tried to make it competitive,” said Swiatek, standing on the same court where she won the U.S. Open singles title three years ago.
Organisers have tested a novel format for the competition this year, hosting it during the week before the main singles draw with eight entries based on combined singles rankings of players and eight wild cards.
It was an undeniable marketing success with a star-studded lineup that included Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic, but the format rankled some who felt it unfairly excluded veteran doubles players.
Hundreds of fans had lined up in the rain outside Arthur Ashe Stadium 90 minutes before the first of two semi-final matches on Wednesday, hardly the crowd one might have expected for the penultimate stage of the mixed doubles in past years.
“Playing with all these people is something incredible for us,” said Errani. “This one is for all the doubles players who couldn’t play this tournament.”
(Reporting by Amy Tennery in New York; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
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