"She says, I do": Alcaraz and Williams thrill at the US Open

Serena Williams was world number one when Carlos Alcaraz was born. 23 years later, the two teamed up on Tuesday in the mixed doubles tournament at the US Open and won 3:5, 1:4 against Erin Routliffe and Lloyd Glasspool in the first round, which is effectively the round of 16.

44-year-old Williams, winner of 23 Grand Slam titles, had not played at Arthur Ashe Stadium since her emotional farewell to tennis in 2022. The crowd gave her a tremendous reception, and the connection with the recovering Alcaraz looked natural from the first moment. The two smiled, laughed, and advanced to the quarterfinals, where they will meet Belinda Bencic and Flavio Cobolli.

"It's always amazing to be here. I never expected to return to this court," said Williams.

With her very first touch of the ball, Serena delivered a backhand winner and got the crowd on their feet. In the seventh game, she even hit an ace at a speed of 193.1 km/h, which caused gasps of admiration in the stands. Alcaraz, who had not played since April due to injury, gradually shook off the rust and closed the first set with a forehand winner. In the second set, the two were in complete control, and at the end, they hugged while wearing matching purple outfits.

"I'm playing alongside the one and only Serena Williams. I'm just trying to do what she tells me," said Alcaraz.

In contrast, the top seeds Novak Djokovic and Aryna Sabalenka were eliminated by experienced doubles players Henry Patten and Katerina Siniakova, 1:4, 4:2, 10:2. Siniakova sealed the upset with an ace on match point.

Last year's champions, Italians Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori, were also eliminated after a 1:4, 4:1, 11:9 loss to Mirra Andreeva and Andrey Rublev. On the other side of the draw, the couple Gael Monfils and Elina Svitolina advanced to the semifinals, as did Karolina Muchova and Jakub Mensik.