Enthusiastic crowds came out to Stadium 6 on a gorgeous afternoon to see the kickoff of the mixed doubles invitational, and they were treated to an entertaining quartet of matches that culminated in a Greek celebration. 

Two-time singles finalist Maria Sakkari and Stefanos Tsitsipas brought the energy and came away with a 7-5, 7-5 victory over Anna Danilina and Karen Kachanov to reach the quarterfinals of the $1 million dollar, 16-team event. 

Just before the Greeks held the court, defending champions Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori finished off Desiree Krawzcyk and Neal Skupski, 4-6, 6-4, 10-8. The three-time Grand Slam mixed doubles champions are once again looking like the team to beat in the desert.

Cobolli, Bencic pack a punch

Earlier in the afternoon, former Olympic gold medalist Belinda Bencic, paired with rising Italian Flavio Cobolli, battled past 2017 French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko and American doubles specialist Evan King, a crowd of sun-baked tennis enthusiasts enjoying a high-quality clash that could have gone either way. 

In the end, it was Bencic and Cobolli’s day. The pair of Top 20-ranked singles players (Bencic is No. 12 and Cobolli is No. 15) came away with a hard-fought 6-4, 6-3 victory to reach the quarterfinals as well. 

French duo of former Top 10 talent Kristina Mladedenovic and Manuel Guinard held court next as they took out the Serbian duo of Mate Pavic and Aleksandra Krunic 7-5, 7-6(7).