Djokovic and Sabalenka outwitted by Patten and Siniakova in New York

Colchester-born Henry Patten occupies a curious space within professional tennis. Despite being the top-ranked doubles player, he can walk down Oxford Street – or Madison Avenue, for that matter – with little chance of being recognised.

But this week's mixed-doubles event at the US Open offers Patten a chance to perform in front of a wider audience. Through smart scheduling and a massive prize money pot, the American authorities have encouraged the world's most famous players to participate.

Advertisement

Hence Tuesday's meeting between Patten and Novak Djokovic, the man with 24 major singles titles, on Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York.

This was a fascinating and entertaining duel, in which Djokovic was actually the only player not to stand atop a rankings chart. His partner was two-time defending singles champion Aryna Sabalenka, while Patten was playing with his female equivalent, the Czech Republic's Katerina Siniakova.

And after the first two sets were shared, it was the doubles specialists – Patten and Siniakova – who dominated the decisive 10-point tie-break to show the value of a specialised skillset and move into the second round.

For all the undoubted quality of Djokovic's serve, return and groundstrokes, he is not a man who particularly enjoys standing at the net. Yes, he may be one of the world's best when it comes to planting a killing volley away for a winner. But doubles is about covering angles and intercepting balls, two skills that he has not needed to work on in his peerless singles career.

So while Djokovic and Sabalenka made a strong start, breaking the Siniakova serve from 40-0 down to run away with the first set 4-1 (that's not a typo, as this mixed-doubles event uses "fast four" scoring), they were eventually outmanoeuvred by their opponents' superior positioning and terrific tactical nous 1-4, 4-2, 10-2.

Advertisement

When the United States Tennis Association announced this "reimagined" mixed-doubles event last year, with a view to attracting the leading singles players, there was an outcry from doubles specialists who felt they were being sidelined. And yet, the law of unexpected consequences has come into play.

The champions from the inaugural event were the only doubles players in the draw: Italy's Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori. This year, Monday's qualifying tournament saw the likes of Patten and his British compatriot Lloyd Glasspool – who is playing with New Zealand's Erin Routliffe – earn a place in the main event.

Patten and Siniakova were unable to build on their win over Djokovic and Sabalenka, however, thanks to an agonisingly close loss to the married couple of Gaël Monfils and Elina Svitolina. Again, this match went to the deciding 10-point tie-break. This time, though, Patten will be kicking himself after stepping up to the line to serve at 8-7 in the breaker and losing both points, the second via a double-fault. That gave Monfils the chance to serve on match point, and he converted to claim a place in Wednesday's semi-finals.

Click here to read article