Elina Svitolina and Gael Monfils produced an impressive performance to defeat Alex Eala and Felix Auger-Aliassime in their opening match at the US Open.
Eala and Auger-Aliassime earned their place in the tournament due to their ranking, while Monfils and Svitolina were awarded a wildcard for the revamped Mixed Doubles format.
Svitolina and Monfils’ performance did not allow Auger-Aliassime and Eala a sniff as they romped to a 4-1, 4-1 victory to reach the quarter finals.
After the match, Monfils and Svitolina returned to the court to conduct a post-match interview on Louis Armstrong Arena.
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“Well, first of all, very happy to play finally with Gael. It’s nice to share the court together. Just super happy with the win. We were trying to be really focused, but also to have fun. That was the key today,” said Svitolina after the match.
Monfils, meanwhile, said: “Thank you for being here. Thank you so much. It’s a fun format, I really enjoyed the first time playing with my wife. I had massive pressure on my back but I feel like I handled it good. It’s different. We played, we won, so now let’s see for the next one.”
The match was the first on the Louis Armstrong Arena and it saw the four players enter the court at 10am, which is extremely rare for any tennis tournament.
That was not lost on Svitolina, who suggested she hadn’t had to play at that time of the day for nearly 20 years.
Svitolina revealed: “Yeah, it’s amazing. Fun format and so many people. 10am, I think, is one of the earliest we’ve ever played since under 12, but yeah super happy to actually win.”
Svitolina and Monfils will now await the winner of Henry Patten and Katerina Siniakova vs Aryna Sabalenka and Novak Djokovic’s round of 16 match.
The US Open Mixed Doubles will continue into Wednesday, 26th August’s order of play, with the final taking place in the evening session on Arthur Ashe Stadium.
The likes of Jessica Pegula and Taylor Fritz, Amanda Anisimova and Learner Tien, and Alexander Zverev and Taylor Townsend will also be playing the Mixed Doubles Grand Slam.
This is not the last we will see of Eala either during the US Open’s ‘Opening Week’, as she is set to play an exhibition match alongside Iva Jovic before the main draw kicks off.
The main draw for the US Open is set to begin on Sunday, 30th August with the draw for both the men and women’s taking place on Thursday, 27th August.
