Muchova, Mensik win at US Open

Jakub Mensik texted Karolina Muchova on the eve of the US Open mixed doubles tournament so they could coordinate their outfits.

Looking good on the court is important, he said.

Now they look like a million dollars.

Czech pair Jakub Mensik, left, and Karolina Muchova hold the trophy after winning the mixed doubles final against Belinda Bencic of Switzerland and Flavio Cobolli of Italy at the Arthur Ashe Stadium at the US Open in New York on Wednesday.

Photo: EPA

Muchova and Mensik won the title on Wednesday in their first time playing together, beating Belinda Bencic and Flavio Cobolli 6-3, 1-6 (10-6).

The Czech duo, wearing the same pink tops and maroon bottoms that they decided to wear on Monday, pulled out match tiebreakers in both matches on the second night of the two-day event, fueled by Mensik’s powerful serve combined with some good hands near the net.

He put away the final with an ace to earn US$1 million for him and Muchova to share.

Czech pair Jakub Mensik, left, and Karolina Muchova return to Belinda Bencic of Switzerland and Flavio Cobolli of Italy during the mixed doubles final at the Arthur Ashe Stadium at the US Open in New York on Wednesday.

Photo: AP

“I think at the end, really the matching outfit made the difference for us,” Muchova said.

They were a point from losing in the semi-finals, erasing two match points and running off the final four to edge Mirra Andreeva and Andrey Rublev 5-4 (8/6), 3-5 (11-9).

Quite a performance, considering that Mensik said he had never played in a mixed doubles event.

Italy’s Flavio Cobolli, left, and Belinda Bencic of Switzerland return to Czech pair Jakub Mensik and Karolina Muchova during the mixed doubles final at the Arthur Ashe Stadium at the US Open in New York on Wednesday.

Photo: EPA

“My first mixed doubles, 100 percent win rate,” he said.

Bencic and Cobolli rallied to end the run of spouses Elina Svitolina and Gael Monfils in the first semi-final with a 4-5 (9/7), 4-1 (10-5) victory.

They appeared headed toward a matchup with Andreeva and Rublev, who were smiling and pumping their fists after opening the lead in the match tiebreaker. Muchova flung her racket to the court in disgust after missing a volley that gave the Russians a 7-5 lead.

However, the Wimbledon women’s runner-up never lost belief, thanks in part to her hard-serving partner, who turns 21 next week.

When Mensik first asked Muchova to play, she told him to improve his ranking. When the US Open mixed doubles tournament was revamped last year, the ability to directly qualify was based on the combined singles rankings of the two players.

Mensik did his part by reaching the semi-finals of the French Open.

“I put a little pressure on him, but in a fun way. It worked,” Muchova said. “I’m happy we managed and we got in, that we are here now.”

The final was the only match of the tournament that resembled a regular match, with standard sets to six games and a tiebreaker at 6-all. Through the first three rounds, sets were to four games, with a tiebreaker at 4-all.

Bencic and Cobolli knocked Serena Williams and Carlos Alcaraz out of the tournament on Tuesday in the quarter-finals.

Then they dropped a set for the first time in the tournament in the semis, but began to dominate midway through the second set, winning the final 11 points to force the match tiebreaker.

However, they could not win their second one in the final.

“This year is already the second final. I never expected in my life to play a Grand Slam,” said Cobolli, this year’s French Open runner-up. “This is mixed, but still something that you never forget.”

The biggest challenge for the winners might have been the outfit selection. Mensik apparently was not familiar with the word “maroon.”

Now he knows and loves it.

“My favorite color right now is pink and maroon, that’s for sure,” he said.

It was the second year of the new format in mixed doubles, with the event shortened and moved to the week before the singles main draw begins, with the US Tennis Association hoping that would get top singles players to compete.

Plenty of top names did compete, but much of the star power, including Williams and Alcaraz, went out early. Aryna Sabalenka and Novak Djokovic lost their opening match, as did Alex Eala and Felix Auger-Aliassime, and Jessica Pegula and Taylor Fritz.

Meanwhile, Stanislas Wawrinka is set for anouter US Open appearance after the 2016 US Open champion was given a wild card a day after he posted what appeared to be a goodbye message to the tournament and the New York fans on social media.

The 41-year-old from Switzerland is no longer ranked high enough to qualify directly for the tournament and it appeared his chances of playing were over when the US Tennis Association awarded its last wild-card spot to Patrick Kypson, an American who is ranked No. 115.

However, the association said that Kypson had withdrawn with an injury and it gave his place to Wawrinka.

“I’m incredibly excited to accept the wild card for the 2026 US Open and look forward to competing in front of the fans in New York once again,” Wawrinka said in a statement.

In qualifying at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, Taiwan’s Joanna Garland won her second-round match, defeating Priscilla Hon of Australia 6-3, 6-4.

Garland beat Leyre Romero Gormaz of Spain 4-6, 6-4, 7-5 in the first round of qualifying. In her final qualifying match, she faces Francesca Jones of the UK.