Daijiworld Media Network- New York
New York, Aug 20: World No. 1 Iga Swiatek shook off travel fatigue to power into the semi-finals of the revamped US Open mixed doubles event on Wednesday, alongside Norwegian star Casper Ruud.
Just two days ago, Swiatek battled through a two-hour final against Jasmine Paolini to clinch the Cincinnati Open title before rushing to New York, arriving at her hotel at 2.30 am Tuesday. Despite the grueling schedule, the Polish ace showed no signs of weariness on court.
Swiatek and Ruud opened their campaign in commanding style, brushing aside the American duo of Madison Keys and Frances Tiafoe 4-1, 4-2 in just 39 minutes at Arthur Ashe Stadium. Barely 20 minutes later, the pair returned to post another straight-sets win, defeating Caty McNally and Lorenzo Musetti 5-3, 4-2 in the quarter-finals.
"Honestly the last two days have felt like one day, but I’m super happy to be here," Swiatek said after the wins.
Ruud was all praise for his partner: “I was happy to team up with Iga. She’s on the winning train these days, so I’m just jumping on board. Everyone should show appreciation to her — she only got to her hotel 12 hours ago, and she’s already out here winning matches.”
Earlier, McNally and Musetti had entered the last eight after ousting Naomi Osaka and Gael Monfils. Meanwhile, US tennis legend Venus Williams and Reilly Opelka bowed out against Karolina Muchova and Andrey Rublev, losing 4-2, 5-4.
In another upset, Italy’s defending champions Andrea Vavassori and Sara Errani eliminated second seeds Elena Rybakina and Taylor Fritz 4-2, 4-2.
Elsewhere, world No. 1 Jannik Sinner, who retired due to illness in the Cincinnati Open final against Carlos Alcaraz, withdrew from mixed doubles as expected. He and Katerina Siniakova were replaced by American pair Danielle Collins and Christian Harrison.
This year’s mixed doubles is being staged over two days (Tuesday and Wednesday), with a new fast-paced scoring format featuring short sets to four games, no-advantage points, and 10-point tiebreaks. The final, however, will be played in a best-of-three sets format, with winners set to pocket $1 million.