Mumbai, Aug. 19 -- The year's last Grand Slam begins this week with an unconventional first. Mixed doubles as a format in tennis is more than a century old, which the US Open has shaken up through a revamped standalone event starting Tuesday. It largely features top singles stars, with a handful of doubles specialists thrown in to make up the 16-team, two-day, shorter format spectacle. The traditional mixed doubles, a third wheel to the two doubles events at Slams, has been given the boot. From the time this radical move was announced in February, the debate has been about sidelining an entire event and set of players. Reigning US Open mixed doubles champions Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori, who have since been handed a wildcard in the sin...