Emma Raducanu appeared to take her early US Open mixed doubles exit alongside partner Carlos Alcaraz to heart on Tuesday afternoon, sharing an awkward exchange with opponent Jack Draper at the net after their contest.
The women’s British No1’s pairing with the five-time Grand Slam champion was arguably one of the most heavily anticipated of the new-look doubles event at Flushing Meadows.
The American Grand Slam opted to scrap the traditional mixed doubles format this year, instead attracting top singles players and switching to a shortened ‘fast-four’ format.
The tournament has proven to be hotly contested, with a number of big name stars pairing up for a tilt at the $1million prize.
But few partnerships have attracted as much interest as Alcaraz and Raducanu, with the duo sparking romance rumours as they praised each other warmly in the build-up to the tournament.
In the end however, their time on court was brief, with number-one seeds Draper and his partner, former doubles world No1 Jessica Pegula, sweeping victory in two clean sets.
But with the match over, Raducanu appeared to show that she was unwilling to suspend competition with her compatriot too quickly.
Heading over to the net, Draper seemed to be ready to give Raducanu for a hug, only for the 22-year-old to opt for a more curt handshake.
Raducanu then moved to hug Pegula – who she last met in a challenging three-set test at the Miami Open this year – while Alcaraz swept up Draper in a similarly friendly embrace.
Draper had previously joked that he had missed out on partnering with his fellow British No1 when asked about their blockbuster pairing in June.
‘A wise person once told me you should find the best partner, and that’s what she did in Alcaraz,’ Draper said when asked if it had been option to play with Raducanu before the entry pairings were confirmed. ‘I don’t blame her at all for that.
‘I think she will have a lot of fun playing with Carlos,’ he added. ‘He’s obviously the best player in the world probably right now, along with (Jannik) Sinner.
‘Great at doubles, as well. Saw that with Rafa (Nadal) at the Olympics. She’s gone about and chose the best partner, for sure.’
When asked in June about her own reasons for picking Alcaraz, Raducanu raved about the ‘great connection’ they had behind-the-scenes.
‘He’s so nice, very happy, amazing values and just a really positive light to be around,’ said Raducanu.
‘I’ve known him for years. Wimbledon 2021 was the first time I started getting to know him. He was always playing the day before me, I would see him win and then I would have motivation to win and get myself into that position too.
‘It was really cool to go through that tournament together and then I kept going through the US Open, we were staying in touch for the whole time and, yeah, it’s nice.’
For his part, Alcaraz joked that he would let Raducanu be ‘the boss’ on court as he praised her game style.
As late as Monday afternoon however, it looked like there might a threat to their partnership taking place.
Alcaraz was playing in the Cincinnati Open final in Ohio at 3pm, less than 24 hours before their first match against Draper and Pegula in New York.
Had his contest against Sinner gone long, both their partners and fellow finalist and mixed doubles competitor Iga Swiatek, might have been forced to withdraw as they recovered.
Instead, Sinner was struck down with a fever, and forced to retire from the final after less than half-an-hour.
The two Cincinnati champions Alcaraz and Swiatek then flew to New York via private jet, landing just before 1am.
But as Alcaraz explained in his post-championship press conference, his desire to play with Raducanu was never in doubt.
‘The scheduling isn’t the best, playing tomorrow… but the concept of the tournament I love it,’ Alcaraz said. ‘I’m going to have so much fun playing with Emma.
‘It’s going to be tough playing against Draper and Pegula, but I will try to enjoy it as much as I can.
‘I will try to see how the court and balls will be and treat it as good preparation for me. I will try to be at my best after my trip to New York.
‘Probably going to sleep late but I’ll try to play my best tennis to help Emma get the win, let’s see if we will get it.
‘It will be fun and a great opportunity to play those matches.’
Although brief, their time on court appeared to live up to his expectations, with the pair frequently laughing and exchanging light-hearted tactics between points.
By contrast, Draper and Pegula were all business, and continued their impressive form against Mirra Andreeva and Daniil Medvedev to book their spot in Wednesday’s semi-final.
