Pegula, Fritz Fall in Mixed Doubles

Jessica Pegula and Taylor Fritz are out of US Open mixed doubles. The No. 2 seeds lost 4-2, 4-1 to Diana Shnaider and Casper Ruud in the first round Tuesday, USA TODAY Sports reported. The match stayed on serve for five games. Then Fritz was broken, the first set went 4-2, and Shnaider and Ruud "rolled to an easy victory" in the second, the live blog wrote. Central Oregon Daily, a USA TODAY Network site, carried the same 4-2, 4-1 line. Two of the four seeded teams are gone before Wednesday.

Pegula and Fritz reunited after Jack Draper and Elena Rybakina withdrew. They were the second seeds because of combined singles ranking, not doubles pedigree. Shnaider and Ruud were a wild card pairing after Iga Swiatek pulled out of mixed. Ruud reached last year's mixed final with Swiatek. Shnaider replaced her. USA TODAY said the Americans never recovered after the first-set break. The format is four games, no-ad, 10-point match tiebreak instead of a third set. There was no third set. It was over in two.

Pegula Fritz mixed doubles: another seed gone

Aryna Sabalenka and Novak Djokovic, the No. 1 seeds, already lost 1-4, 4-2, 10-2 to Katerina Siniakova and Henry Patten. That was the morning shock. This was the afternoon one. USA TODAY's results board listed both first-round scores. The No. 4 seeds, Belinda Bencic and Flavio Cobolli, survived Taylor Townsend and Alexander Zverev 4-2, 4-2. The No. 3 seeds, Amanda Anisimova and Learner Tien, lost 5-3, 4-2 to Emma Navarro and Tommy Paul. Seeded teams went 1-3 in the first round if you count Bencic and Cobolli as the only hold.

Shnaider and Ruud moved into a quarterfinal against Mirra Andreeva and Andrey Rublev, the pair that knocked out two-time defending champions Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori. USA TODAY had that quarterfinal on the 5 p.m. ET wave. Pegula turns back to singles. Fritz does the same. Mixed was a two-day sprint. Their sprint lasted one match. Pegula's Cincinnati final run was last week. This week in New York started with a first-round exit in mixed.

What the 16-team field looks like now

Karolina Muchova and Jakub Mensik already reached Wednesday's semifinals by beating Navarro and Paul 4-1, 4-3, USA TODAY listed. Elina Svitolina and Gael Monfils beat Siniakova and Patten in a quarterfinal and are in the other semi. Serena Williams and Carlos Alcaraz won their opener 5-3, 4-1. The celebrity half of the draw is still alive. The American second seeds are not. Shnaider and Ruud are the team that just took a seeded scalp without needing a match tiebreak.

Pegula Fritz mixed doubles FAQ

What was the Pegula and Fritz mixed doubles score? They lost 4-2, 4-1 to Diana Shnaider and Casper Ruud in the first round on Tuesday, per USA TODAY Sports and the USA TODAY Network.

Why were Pegula and Fritz the No. 2 seeds? Combined singles ranking in the 16-team field. They reunited after Draper and Rybakina withdrew. Shnaider and Ruud were a wild card after Swiatek pulled out of mixed.

Who do Shnaider and Ruud play next? Mirra Andreeva and Andrey Rublev in the quarterfinals, USA TODAY reported. That pair had just beaten defending champions Errani and Vavassori.