Kiwi Venus falls short in US Open final

Michael Venus and Hao-Ching Chan during their Mixed doubles final match against Jamie Murray and Bethanie Mattek-Sands. Photo: Reuters
Michael Venus and Hao-Ching Chan during their Mixed doubles final match against Jamie Murray and Bethanie Mattek-Sands. Photo: Reuters

New Zealand's Michael Venus and his Taiwanese partner Hao-Ching have been beaten in straight sets in the mixed doubles final at the US Tennis Open in New York.

Jamie Murray and Bethanie Mattek-Sands defended their US Open mixed doubles title on Saturday under sunny skies at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

The win burnished Murray's reputation as one of the world's leading doubles exponents, as the Briton enjoyed his third consecutive mixed doubles triumph at Flushing Meadows.

An elated Mattek-Sands, who suffered a grisly knee injury at Wimbledon two years ago, celebrated the 6-2, 6-3 win by taking a selfie on the court with Murray, older brother of former world No. 1 Andy who also won in 2017 with Martina Hingis.

"We have a lot of fun. He keeps me pretty grounded," said America's Olympic mixed doubles champion Mattek-Sands, who added that she was happy to be back on the court after undergoing more knee surgery in March.

"It's about choosing your mentality, choosing your attitude," added the 34-year-old, after annexing her ninth Grand Slam doubles title.

The match began with routine holds but quickly pivoted in favour of the holders, who played a clean match with just 11 unforced errors while firing off off 23 winners