Czech pair Karolina Muchova and Jakub Mensik beat Switzerland’s Belinda Bencic and Italian Flavio Cobolli 6-3 1-6 10-6 on Wednesday to win the U.S. Open mixed doubles title, securing their first Grand Slam trophy as a team.
Bencic drilled a return winner to break serve for a 3-1 lead in the second, and the Swiss player later levelled the match when her forehand clipped the net cord and skipped beyond Muchova. In the deciding 10-point match tiebreak, Mensik’s big serve and sharp work at the net helped the Czechs seize control. Jakub Mensik watches as Karolina Muchova returns the ball against Mirra Andreeva and Andrey Rublev during the mixed doubles semifinal match | Photo Credit: AP The 20-year-old put away a firm volley to open an 8-4 lead before Muchova produced her best serve of the match to bring up championship points. The 16-team mixed doubles draw began on Tuesday in the second year of the tournament’s revamped format, which features leading singles players and is aimed at drawing bigger crowds in the week before the singles main draw.
Mensik sealed the victory with another ace, leaping in celebration after clinching the first trophy of the season’s final Grand Slam.
Muchova and Mensik had earlier saved two match points against Russians Mirra Andreeva and Andrey Rublev in their semi-final to book their place in the title match.