"DMs can go a long way" - US Open mixed doubles partners Ellen Perez & Sander Gille reveal adorable story of how they linked up in New York

Ellen Perez and Sander Gille are having a fantastic time at the 2024 US Open, having won their first two mixed doubles matches. After their second-round win, the duo shared the hilarious story of how they linked up for the 2024 US Open.

This is the first time that Perez and Gille are playing as a pair and they have successfully navigated their way into the quarterfinals of the ongoing US Open. The Australian-Belgian pair were pushed to the limits in both their matches so far in New York as they needed super-tiebreakers to better Sadio Doumbia-Lyudmyla Kichenok and Ashlyn Krueger-Thai-Son Kwiatkowski.

After their second-round win against Krueger and Kwiatkowski, Gille shared a humorous tale about how he convinced Perez to partner with him. The Belgian revealed that he had been pursuing a mixed doubles partnership with her for two years, but to no avail. However, after Perez struggled to find another partner, Gille finally got his wish.

"Great story. I've asking Ellen for two years now and she couldn't find anyone else this tournament. So I finally got my shot. So I'm very pleased and happy that we got two wins. Maybe I get another shot at another tournament," Gille said in the on-court interview.

Perez was in splits with Gille's hilarious revelation and joked that she was in the mood to do some charity work, so she agreed to partner with him. The 28-year-old added that she had partners lined up to play mixed doubles with in the past but was happy to play with Gille at this year's edition of the US Open.

"I was just thinking I should do some charity work eventually. no no no (laughing). I hadn't worked out at times. I had partners set or we were playing the wrong side and you know what this tournament its all about having fun and giving it a chance, so I'm really happy I have," she quipped.

Perez later shared the video of their on-court interview on social media platform X and continued the playful banter by writing,

"What can I say a girl loves to be wanted. DMs can go a long way… if you’re patient."

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Ellen Perez reaches quarterfinals in mixed doubles and women's doubles at US Open 2024

Ellen Perez (Image via Getty)

Ellen Perez is enjoying life in New York, as she has reached the quarterfinals in both mixed doubles and women's doubles. In the mixed, Perez and Gille are set to face the American wildcard pairing of Tyra Caterina Grant and Aleksandar Kovacevic. The Australian has previously advanced twice in her career to the quarterfinals of the US Open mixed doubles.

In the women's doubles category, Ellen Perez and her regular partner Nicole Melichar-Martinez have swept every challenger with ease. The fifth seeds registered straight-set wins over Mccartney Kessler-Sabrina Santamaria, Viktorija Golubic-Tara Moore, and 11th seeds Sara Sorribes-Tormo-Marie Bouzkova.

Perez and Melichar-Martinez will now face former women's doubles Grand Slam champions Zhang Shuai and Kristina Mladenovic in the quarterfinals. The Australian-American pairing is seeking their second US Open semifinal, having previously reached the last four stage in 2022.