Alcaraz and Ruud to battle it out for no. 1 spot in US Open final
ATP
Carlos Alcaraz and Casper Ruud will meet in the 2022 US Open final after successfully overcoming their semi-final opponents, and battle it out for the ATP World No. 1 spot.
First to play was the young Norwegian who took on the 27th-seeded Karen Khachanov. It was a match of ups and downs for both players. It was Ruud who had the first break advantage in the first set, then the Russian, but eventually, a tie-break had to decide it.
In the tie-break, the Norwegian was more solid on his serve, and after winning it 7-5, he headed into the second set with an advantage. And he managed to use that very well as he didn't lose any point on his serve in the set and added two breaks to win it comfortably 6-2.
But Khachanov fought back in the third set, as this time, he didn't allow the World No. 7 player to have any break points. He used his second chance of the set in the twelfth game to win the set 7-5 and cause some trouble for the Norwegian.
But Ruud improved once again in the fourth set, and again, it was the Norwegian who was the only player to have break points and use them. After three hours and three minutes, he won 7-6(5), 6-2, 5-7, 6-2, and if Alcaraz lost his match, he would become the new World No. 1 player.
But that didn't happen. The 19-year-old Spaniard took on the home-crowd favorite Frances Tiafoe in what has been another incredible battle at the Arthur Ashe Stadium.
The crowd in New York was happy to see their player prevail in the first-set tie-break after having a set point earlier, as Tiafoe started the match in the best way possible.
But the teenage sensation soon showed his firepower in the second and third sets when he didn't allow his opponent to do much and in only 80 minutes of play, he turned the score around and was heading into the fourth set with a 2-1 lead.
But despite being a break down and facing a match point, the American fought back. He forced yet another tie-break, and once again, he won it as the match headed into the decider.
After playing five sets against Marin Cilic and Jannik Sinner, the Spaniard was visibly exhausted, but he still managed to keep fighting and break his opponent three times to win the match 6-7(6), 6-3, 6-1, 6-7(5), 6-3 and set up the final against Ruud.
The winner of their final meeting will also become the new ATP World No. 1. Alcaraz has a chance to become the youngest World No. 1 in the history of men's tennis.
