Jack Draper gets a ticking off from doubles partner after beating Emma Raducanu
Jack Draper got one over on Emma Raducanu in a battle of the Brits at the US Open mixed doubles event - before getting a telling off from his partner, Jessica Pegula, for referring to the revamped tournament as an exhibition.
Draper and Pegula were pitted against Raducanu and Carlos Alcaraz in the opening round of the new-look event, which now consists of eight pairs of wildcards alongside a further eight pairings who qualify based on their combined individual rankings.
The World No 5 and Pegula started the tournament as the top seeds and are through to the semi-finals after dispatching Raducanu and Alcaraz in just 51 minutes in their opener before beating Mirra Andreeva and Daniil Medvedev in the quarter-finals.
But that didn't save Draper from being scolded by his doubles partner when he referred to the tournament as an exhibition after being asked about the prospect of winning a Major in the mixed doubles. 'Yeah, it would mean a lot,' he replied. 'Obviously it is like a bit of an exhibition format. It's nice to play with someone.'
Pegula promptly interjected and said: 'You shouldn't be saying that, but that's okay.' Draper seemed confused initially and continued. 'What? What did I say? Have a bit of fun with it. I don't know. I like winning. It's good to win, right?' he said to Pegula.
'Yeah. It's not an exhibition. I know what you're saying,' the World No 4 replied. Draper then continued: 'I'm hearing that a lot, it's a bit of an exhibition, a bit of fun, why am I so locked in. It's a good opportunity to play, do well, get a lot of points in before next week, yeah. Like, I'm enjoying being locked in. I don't know why it's a crime to be locked in.'
Pegula laughed and added: 'No, it's fine. I'm just laughing at the 'exhibition' part.'
The revamped tournament, which has a huge $1million (£741,000) prize pot, has been criticised in some quarters with some questioning the validity of the new format given the US Open is a Grand Slam. A shortened scoring format is being used until the final, with sets played to four games, no advantages at deuce, and a 10-point tiebreak instead of a third set.
Following Draper's comments after their win, Pegula was later asked where she thought the US Open's revised mixed doubles event should be in the tennis calendar compared to other major events.
'That's a good question. I don't know. I understand what he was saying, I was just kind of giving him s***. Yeah, it has somewhat the feeling it's an exho. It's not called that. But I don't really know. What are the terms?'
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