Iga Swiatek and Casper Ruud just fell short at the final hurdle in the US Open mixed doubles event.
Swiatek made a quick turnaround from Cincinnati to join Ruud in New York for the new revamped US Open mixed event.
They made a very positive start to their new partnership, with Ruud particularly impressed by one thing Swiatek does when competing.
However, they were unable to go all the way after being beaten by defending champions Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori in the final.
Iga Swiatek sends message to Casper Ruud on social media after US Open mixed doubles final
Swiatek and Ruud beat the likes of Jessica Pegula and Jack Draper, Madison Keys and Frances Tiafoe, as well as Lorenzo Musetti and Caty McNally to reach the US Open mixed doubles final.
They pushed Errani and Vavassori all the way, but were eventually beaten, 6-3 5-7 [10-6].
Despite being unable to add another winner’s trophy to her growing collection, Swiatek appears to have still enjoyed her time playing with Ruud.
In an Instagram post after the final, Swiatek was full of praise for her Norwegian partner, “What a ride (smiling face with sweat emoji).
“Thank you so much @casperruud for being the best and most supportive partner in these last two days. I had so much fun.”
Iga Swiatek and Casper Ruud agree on the reason they lost the US Open mixed doubles final
Swiatek and Ruud continued to be aligned even in the post-match press conference, as they both agreed on the reason they lost the final to Errani and Vavassori.
After being broken in their first service game, Swiatek and Ruud found themselves 4-1 down very early on, and this poor start is something they both believe played a big part in their defeat.
“Yeah, really fun match in a way,” said Ruud. “Didn’t get the best start unfortunately, but that’s tennis. We fought our way back, on the brink of losing in the second, came up with some good points when we needed to.
“It’s been really fun. I said it also yesterday. It’s been an honor and really fun to share the court with Iga and other players. It’s the first time they’re doing this. I know it’s created a lot of reaction, somewhat bold to do it. You can’t argue that it’s not great for fans because you have full packed Arthur Ashe at midnight on a Wednesday of the quallie week. How often do you get that?
“It was really fun to see the crowd getting into it. It really pumped us up. Even though we were down 6-3, 5-4, them serving, we still felt like we were alive. The crowd really helped us in the second.”
Swiatek echoed Ruud, “I totally agree with Casper. I think at the beginning of the match we needed to kind of adjust to the way they played, because obviously it’s different playing two experienced doubles players or two singles players or one doubles player but the other is singles. Yeah, I think we did the job pretty well in terms of, yeah, coming back and kind of figuring it out a bit.
“So yeah, I think Sara and Andrea for sure stepped up and did a great job. We also made it super competitive and hopefully fun for the fans. That’s what this event is for. I really enjoyed the whole experience.
“Yeah, it was amazing having an opportunity to play mixed doubles. It’s always fun, but especially with Casper. I think we made a great team.”
Swiatek and Ruud will now turn their attention to singles competition, where they will both have ambitions of challenging for the title as a former champion and runner-up, respectively.
Both players will find out their draws when the US Open releases them on Thursday, August 21, at 12pm (ET) in New York.
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