World’s best ready to sprinkle stardust on US Open mixed doubles | Tumaini Carayol

A revamped competition with the top singles players and held the week before the main tournament has caught attention at Flushing Meadows

A few hours after Taylor Fritz's thirdround match at the Cincinnati Open, the theme of his post-match press conference shifted from his tough victory against Lorenzo Sonego to the looming US Open mixed doubles tournament. The first question posed to him on this subject was carefully prefaced with the acknowledgment that mixed doubles was probably not his priority in the middle of one of the biggest tournaments in the world. As a grin spread across his face, Fritz interjected: It is a priority."

Fritz had been asked whether he had any sympathy for the frustrated doubles specialists who had been brushed aside to make room for the transformation of this event. From his perspective, the right players were in the draw. I've seen a lot of people calling it like an exhibition, or it doesn't count," he said.