Mensik and Muchova Beat Bencic and Cobolli to Win $1M US Open Mixed Doubles Bracket

Ahead of the U.S. Open singles tournament starting on Sunday, Karolina Muchova and Jakub Mensik got an early start on what they hope will be successful runs by winning the mixed doubles tournament.

Muchova and Mensik, who overcame two match points in the semifinal earlier in the day, defeated Belinda Bencic and Flavio Cobolli 6-3, 1-6, 10-6 at Arthur Ashe Stadium on Wednesday night to win the trophy and $1 million prize.

Muchova and Mensik trailed 9-7 in the tiebreak in their semifinal matchup against Andrey Rublev and Mirra Andreeva before winning four straight points to reach the final.

They were able to carry that momentum into the start of their showdown with Bencic and Cobolli by winning the first set in nine games. Bencic and Cobolli rebounded with an impressive 6-1 victory in the second set to force the tiebreak.

The tiebreak went back and forth between the two pairs before Muchova and Mensik eventually pulled away, culminating with Mensik's ace on championship point.

Wednesday's win marked the first Grand Slam title in any competition for both Mensik and Muchova.

Mensik, who will turn 21 on Sept. 1, has never reached the final at any of the four major tournaments as a singles competitor. His best showing at the U.S. Open has been two appearances in the third round.

"It's my first time standing here," Mensik said after Wednesday's victory. "I didn't expect this before the tournament, but it's such great fun. It was amazing to play and start the US Open like that."

Muchova has two Grand Slam finals appearances in her singles career with the most recent coming at Wimbledon earlier this year. She lost to Linda Nosková in three sets.

Mensik will enter the men's singles tournament as the No. 18 seed. Muchova the No. 7 seed in the women's tournament.

The singles draw will be held on Thursday, leading to the start of the tournament on Sunday.