By Rory Carroll
Aug 26 (Reuters) – 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.
Muchova and Mensik got off to a fast start on Arthur Ashe Stadium, with the hard-serving Mensik hammering an ace past Bencic on set point to claim the opener in less than 30 minutes.
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.
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.
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.
“I think in the end the matching outfits made the difference for us,” Muchova said to laughter as the pair sported matching maroon Adidas jackets during the trophy ceremony.
“I wasn’t really expecting to be standing here tonight. We came out just to have fun and enjoy these mixed doubles and now we are standing here. So we did something right.
“I think this is a really good start to the U.S. Open for all of us,” she added after congratulating Bencic and Cobolli.
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.
Among the star-studded teams, Novak Djokovic joined forces with Aryna Sabalenka and Carlos Alcaraz played alongside Serena Williams.
(Reporting by Rory Carroll; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
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