By Ricky Dimon
The second-to-last day of the 2018 U.S. Open was headlined by…well…you know what. But there was also plenty of other tennis going on around the grounds of the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center that should not be overlooked.
Included in the rest of the action was Bethanie Mattek-Sands first major title since she suffered a frightening knee injury 14 months ago at Wimbledon. Mattek-Sands, perhaps the best doubles player on the WTA Tour who also excels in singles, teamed up with Jamie Murray to lift the mixed doubles title on Saturday. The American-Brit pairing outlasted Nikola Mektic and Alicja Rosolska of POLAND. 2-6, 6-3, 11-9 (super-tiebreaker).
“It was a little emotional getting that win,” Mattek-Sands admitted. “I thought I did a really good job throughout all the matches, kind of putting that aside and just going out there and playing tennis. I really enjoyed being on the court with Jamie…. The big win about this and the best part about this was the whole two weeks that we got to play. We really enjoyed ourselves out there, came up with some big wins, played together as a team. That’s the reason we’re holding this trophy.
“I go out there because I love tennis and I love playing. To hold the trophy in the end, it’s amazing. I just talked a lot about the journey. Appreciating the journey is really the real win. These titles come. When they do they’re amazing.”
“Definitely,” Murray responded when asked if he and Mattek-Sands will partner each other in the future.
The future may be sooner rather than later for Jenson Brooksby, but he will have to wait at least another year for a junior Slam title. Brooksby, who won Kalamazoo to earn a spot in the men’s singles U.S. Open main draw, lost in the junior boys semifinals on Saturday. The 17-year-old American succumbed to Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti 6-3, 6-3. Next up for Musetti is the final against Thiago Seyboth Wild, who ousted No. 1 seed Chun Hsin Tseng 6-2, 6-4.
Sunday’s girls final will pit China’s Xiyu Wang against Frenchwoman Clara Burel.
In other news on Saturday, legendary wheelchair player Shingo Kunieda booked his spot in the men’s singles final. The Japanese star overcame Nicolas Peifer of France 2-6,6-4, 7-5. Meanwhile, the men’s doubles wheelchair final got top billing in Arthur Ashe Stadium and it was won by Alfie Hewett and Gordon Reid.
Topics: 10sballs, 2018 US Open, Alicja Rosolska, Atp, BETHANIE Mattek-Sands, Doubles tennis, Flushing Meadows, Jamie Murray, Mixed Doubles, New York, Nikola Mektic, Sports, Tennis, US Open tennis, Wta