Indians Tennis pride Leander Paes failed to defend their US Open mixed double crown, suffering a shock 2-6, 4-6 defeat at the hands of local wild cards Carly Gullickson and Travis Parrott on Thursday.
Thanks to brilliance of Paes, the second seeds saved a match point in the eighth game of the second set and also got their first and only break in the match.

Cara proved a weak link in the Indo-Zimbabwean combo as all she could do was play some feeble shots. She failed to make any impact as not even once she held her serve in the final match, which lasted just 66 minutes.

Paes and Cara struggled to find their touch as numerous unforced errors flew from their racquets while their rivals played a fascinating game, especially at the net.

The second seeds managed to save both the chances but Cara dropped her serve twice — third and seventh games — which handed their rivals a cushion of 5-2 lead. Now Leander’s only hope is the doubles final against another Indian fellow Bhupati.