By Tracy Zwick

Aleksandar Kovacevic may be out of the U.S. Open main draw in the men’s singles competition, but this Upper West Sider will be in town for a while longer, thanks to a victory Wednesday in the first round of mixed doubles.

Kovacevic and his playing partner, Tyra Grant, whom he only met this week, defeated fellow Americans Learner Tien and Carel Ngounoue, 6-3 6-4. Kovacevic and Grant don’t yet know who they’ll play in round two or when; the schedule for each day at the Open is generally released the preceding day.

The Rag has been following Kovacevic’s rise in the tennis rankings and his U.S. Open campaign. A former teenage ball person at the Open, he currently sits at #76 in the world in men’s singles. He grew up on West 97th Street and attended PS 9 and MS 54 on the UWS, then Beacon High School on West 44th Street. Kovacevic played his earliest tennis in Central Park after spending countless hours hitting against a backboard near what’s now the Whole Foods on Columbus Avenue and West 97th Street.

Perfect strangers team up to win

Kovacevic rarely plays doubles and he’d never met 16-year-old Grant before Tuesday. The United States Tennis Association (USTA) offers “wild cards” or automatic entries into mixed doubles play in the Open to promising players, and it often acts as a sort of matchmaker in creating doubles pairs. The players who are brought together can be perfect strangers. So round one of one of the world’s premiere sporting events on Tuesday was the first time Kovacevic and Grant ever played together, either in practice or competition, or were even introduced.

You wouldn’t have known that from watching their camaraderie, chemistry, and communication, though. Kovacevic and Grant served nine aces and won 82% of the points on their first serves. Grant was responsible for some blistering net play, unsurprising given that she was part of this year’s winning girls’ Australian Open doubles team, a 2024 Wimbledon girls’ doubles champ, and a French Open girls’ doubles finalist.

For his part, 26-year-old Kovacevic was reliable at the baseline and in excellent form serving. Having honed his hand skills over years of singles play, he held his ground at the net and mid-court, producing some key angled volleys. What makes doubles fun to watch is the quick, popping exchanges and lightning reflexes of the players, who often play the ball before it bounces. Partners must be in rapid and clear communication about what part of the court each is covering. Strategy can change in the middle of a point, and partners have to sync-up to be successful. Doubles matches tend to move more quickly and be shorter in duration than singles.

Kovacevic had plenty of supporters thrilling to the action on an intimate Court 15 as the sun set and the lights went on at the USTA Billie Jean King Tennis Center Wednesday night. One of the smallest courts in the complex, its modest bleachers were full of smiling faces, including Kovacevic’s parents and sister, his coach, Hugo Armando, some peers and past trainers. Even the family’s Upper West Side dog walker was on hand (without Gigi, the family’s 13-year-old pooch).

The U.S. Open has the biggest prize pool in all of tennis this season, with the men’s and women’s singles champs taking home $3.6 million each. Every competitor in round one singles action, including Kovacevic, earned $100,000.  Round one in mixed doubles earned each team $10,000 and there’s an additional $16,000 purse for those who make it to the second round. Whoever makes it to the final mixed doubles match next week wins a $200,000 purse (per team).

Aside from the purse and pride, Kovacevic and his team have more reason to celebrate. It’s his 26th birthday today (Thursday). Conveniently, he’s off from competition at the Open.

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