Alcaraz and Raducanu debut with defeat under the spotlight at the US Open.

Rarely has a Grand Slam tournament begun with as much anticipation as the US Open this Tuesday. It was no surprise, of course. The final major tournament of the season kicked off in New York with the revamped mixed doubles draw, a format that, with a million dollars in prize money for the winning pair, brought together the best players from the ATP and WTA categories in the Big Apple.

Paired with Briton Emma Raducanu, winner of the 2022 US Open when she was just 18, Carlos Alcaraz flew in on Monday night from Ohio , where he had won the Cincinnati Masters 1000 after Jannik Sinner 's bitter withdrawal, to make his debut against the pairing of Jessica Pegula, the fourth-best female tennis player in the ranking, and Jack Draper, number five on the men's circuit.

It soon became clear that laughter was going to be a regular feature of the match, even more so when Alcaraz and Raducanu, both 22 , entered the giant center court at Flushing Meadows, joking and waving, backpacks in tow, to the nearly 20,000 spectators who packed Arthur Ashe.

The first set, however, fell to the opposing team. Draper and Pegula, more experienced as a duo, reached the four games required to win sets in this novel—and short—format devised by the US Open organizers to stimulate public interest in the first week of the tournament.

Alcaraz showed signs of his ingenuity, even surprising his teammate, who clutched her head at the Murcian's magic, but neither player could remedy what seemed inevitable from the start. Draper and Pegula closed out the match with the fifth match point and sealed their qualification for the quarterfinals with a double 4-2 victory.

Unable to lose their smiles even in defeat, Alcaraz and Raducanu acknowledged their opponents' efforts in the net and gathered their belongings on the bench just before beginning to sign autographs for the dozens of fans crowded around the front row of the center court. It wasn't to be. Not this time, at least.