Djokovic and Sabalenka lose opening match in US Open mixed doubles

[p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/djokovic-novak/AZg49Et9/"]Djokovic[/a], a 24-time Grand Slam singles ‌champion, and four-time major winner [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/sabalenka-aryna/vyhksgUB/"]Sabalenka[/a] made a ‌strong start by taking the opening set. ‌But [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/patten-henry/tzbx2iwG/"]Patten[/a] and doubles specialist [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/siniakova-katerina/OKXs3Wah/"]Siniakova[/a] hit back to claim the second before dominating the tiebreak to ‌[a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/tennis/djokovic-n-AZg49Et9/sabalenka-a-vyhksgUB/?mid=EiTwUeJl"]secure a place in the quarter-finals[/a].[/p][p]Siniakova ⁠sealed the upset ‌in style with an ace out wide on match ​point, ending the tournament hopes of the star-studded pairing.[/p][p][b]"It wasn't looking very good ​for a while, in this format we play one bad game and all of a ⁠sudden the first ​set's gone,"[/b] Patten said.[/p][p][b]"We knew the same could happen in the second, and we played an amazing tiebreak. Kat acing Novak on match ‌point was great."[/b][/p][embed guid="648ba140-59b7-4eaf-87e7-3110c85febbc" url="https://x.com/usopen/status/2092285030923985165" social-type="twitter" /][p]The mixed doubles championship is once again being staged in the week before the singles main draw, after organisers revamped the format last year to attract more leading singles players by reducing the field and giving the event a standalone slot on the calendar.[/p][p]The revamped format proved a commercial success in ‌its debut year, drawing sellout crowds and ​attracting many of the sport's biggest singles ‌names despite criticism from some doubles specialists, who argued it marginalised established pairings.[/p][p]Italian duo [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/errani-sara/UqnOkX4F/"]Sara Errani[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/vavassori-andrea/EVknmLDE/"]Andrea Vavassori[/a] went on to retain the title by defeating [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/swiatek-iga/jNyZsXZe/"]Iga ⁠Swiatek[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/ruud-casper/zN9UpRqp/"]Casper Ruud[/a] ⁠in last year's ‌final.[/p][infobox id="3dc51b3a-107f-482b-9173-a97d347ef1b3" /]