Alcaraz and Serena Williams unleash madness in their mixed US Open debut
The Spanish tennis player and the American have reached the quarter-finals after defeating Routliffe and Glasspool in a match where they improved as it progressed.
Carlos Alcaraz and Serena Williams are the main attraction of the 2026 mixed US Open. The queen of tennis and the biggest superstar of the men's circuit have teamed up in a format that suits them well to regain their form, and they did not disappoint with an incredible match in which they rose from a slow start to defeat Erin Routliffe and Lloyd Glasspool 5-3, 4-1 after 57 minutes of play.
Alcaraz had been inactive for 4 and a half months due to a wrist injury and this was his first official match, while Serena had been away from the circuit for 4 years until she decided to return a few weeks ago at 44 years of age. As expected, they struggled to get into the match, but once they did, they delighted the crowd and showed why there was so much hype and expectation around them.. Now they will take a brief break before stepping back onto the court to take on Flavio Cobolli and Belinda Bencic in the quarterfinals.
Alcaraz and Serena save two set points and achieve the impossible
The match started in the worst possible way for Alcaraz and Serena. The Spaniard committed a double fault on the first point of the match, and despite giving us some amazing points, they ultimately lost their service in the first game of the match. They had to row against the tide. Carlos started cold, as expected after so much time off, while the younger of the Williams sisters also struggled in the first two games against the good play of Glasspool and Routliffe. The duo of the Spaniard and the American managed to break Serena's serve, but it was clear that they were far from the level of their opponents.
To make matters worse, Alcaraz could hardly get any first serves in, resulting in two set points for Glasspool and Routliffe that Alcaraz and Williams saved at the last moment. It was at that moment when both brought out their best version after being backed into a corner, breaking Lloyd's serve to level the score at 3-3. From there, chaos erupted in Arthur Ashe, and Routliffe and Glasspool did not win another game. A cross-court backhand return from Serena and a forehand from Alcaraz sealed the first set 5-3 in their favor. Four consecutive games, hard to believe.
The show of Alcaraz and Serena
Once they got into that dynamic, Carlos and Serena became unstoppable, supported by a packed Arthur Ashe. This led to a quick break in the second set after being down 30-0 on return, which put them a step and a half away from the quarterfinals after having been between a rock and a hard place just minutes earlier. The aura and chemistry that Carlos and Serena exuded was incredible, and they started hitting more winners that kept going in, which led to a quick 3-0.
At this point, the only thing Glasspool and Routliffe could do was embrace the situation and fall in the most dignified way possible. Two experienced doubles players who had gone from being able to close the first set at 4-1 to losing 7 consecutive games. In fact, Alcaraz and Serena had two chances to finish at 4-0 after several amazing points, but ultimately the score in the second set was 4-1, which is the least important part. The most important thing is to see Carlos smile on the court again after so long, alongside the greatest of all time. History.
This is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Alcaraz y Serena Williams desatan la locura en su debut en el US Open mixto