Italians Andrea Vavassori and Sara Errani won the U.S. Open's reimagined mixed doubles event Wednesday night, withholding WTA world No. 2 Iga Świątek and ATP world No. 12 Casper Ruud in a 10-point tiebreak for the third set and the match.

The U.S. Open shortened both the draw and matches this year to allow men's and women's singles stars to compete before those draws kick off Sunday. That didn't change the result, however, as Vavassori and Errani won the U.S. Open's longer mixed doubles event last year.

The Italian duo won the mixed doubles title at the French Open this year as well. It's Errani's ninth major title, as she's won six majors in women's doubles in addition to the three in mixed doubles. This U.S. Open championship may be a bit sweeter, though, as they are set to receive a $1 million prize alongside the trophy as part of the new-look event.

Just 16 teams competed in this year's mixed doubles event in a quick span of two days. In addition to Świątek and Ruud, Vavassori and Errani got through Danielle Collins and Christian Harrison in the semifinal, Andrey Rublev and Karolina Muchova in the quarterfinal, plus Taylor Fritz and Elena Rybakina in the first round.

Vavassori and Errani played through some pressure heading into the event, mentioning Tuesday they were playing for all the doubles teams who could not be there due to the shortened field. The lucrative prize only makes the win sweeter as they were playing for something bigger.

"I think this one is also for all the doubles players who couldn't play in this tournament," Errani said after the championship win at Flushing Meadow Wednesday.

With a fun, new-look event to kick off this year's U.S. Open, we'll see if other majors decide to follow suit next year. Singles players interested in playing more mixed doubles certainly have their eye on the Italians now if they didn't already.


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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Italian Duo to Receive Shockingly Lucrative Prize With U.S. Open Mixed Doubles Title.

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