Serena Williams thrills New York crowd on US Open return with Alcaraz
Former women’s No 1 proves she’s no nostalgia act before star pairing crash out in mixed doubles quarter-finals
TL;DR
- Serena Williams returned to the US Open after 1,453 days, playing mixed doubles with Carlos Alcaraz.
- The star pairing won their first-round match against Lloyd Glasspool and Erin Routliffe.
- Williams and Alcaraz were defeated in the quarter-finals by Belinda Bencic and Flavio Cobolli.
- The revamped mixed doubles competition uses shorter sets and no-ad scoring, leading to quick matches and early exits for seeded players.
- Novak Djokovic and Aryna Sabalenka also lost in the first round.