Japan's Ena Shibahara and Croatian partner Franko Skugor exited from the U.S. Open mixed doubles quarterfinals Monday with a 7-6(5), 4-6, 10-3 loss to China's Zhang Shuai and Croatia's Mate Pavic.
The unseeded duo went toe to toe with second seeds Zhang and Pavic in the first two sets but could not recover after falling behind early in the 10-point match tiebreak at New York's Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.
Japan’s Ena Shibahara (R) and Croatian partner Franko Skugor play in the U.S. Open mixed doubles quarterfinals in New York on Sept. 5, 2022. (Kyodo)
Shibahara, who won this year's French Open mixed doubles championship with Dutch partner Wesley Koolhof, was the last Japanese player remaining in competition in Flushing Meadows.
In a major upset, men's singles second seed Rafael Nadal was eliminated in the round of 16 by 22nd-seeded American Frances Tiafoe 6-4, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3.
