NEW YORK: Serena Williams’ return to Arthur Ashe Stadium ended in disappointment on Tuesday as she and Carlos Alcaraz were beaten by Flavio Cobolli and Belinda Bencic in the U.S. Open mixed doubles quarter-finals.
Cobolli and Bencic won 5-4(4) 4-1 to end the high-profile partnership’s run, after Williams and Alcaraz had produced an impressive display earlier in the day.
The 23-times Grand Slam singles champion had not competed at the U.S. Open’s main stadium since her emotional farewell to tennis in 2022. The 44-year-old was greeted by a huge ovation when she returned to the court for the mixed doubles event.
Williams and Alcaraz, who is 21 years her junior, defeated Erin Routliffe and Lloyd Glasspool 5-3 4-1 in the opening round, with the American producing flashes of her former brilliance, including a 120 mph (193 kph) ace.
Alcaraz, playing competitively for the first time since April because of injury, also showed signs of his quality as the pair advanced in matching purple outfits.
“It’s always such an amazing place to be here,” Williams said. “I never expected to be back on this court.”
Their quarter-final opponents proved far more difficult, however. Cobolli and Bencic recovered from an early exchange of errors to take the opening-set tiebreak before dominating the second set.
The Swiss-Italian pairing did not commit an unforced error in the second set and secured victory with an ace from Cobolli.
“Playing Serena and Carlos on Arthur Ashe is not easy. I was tired before the match, I’m tired now,” Cobolli said.
Bencic added: “I don’t know how I landed on this court – to play Carlos and Serena is a great honour.”
Cobolli and Bencic will face married couple Elina Svitolina and Gael Monfils in Wednesday’s semi-final.
