Casper Ruud took part in the UTS Christmas dinner together with Benoit Paire and Alexander Bublik, where he talked about the 2022 US Open final.
The 2022 campaign for Ruud was an amazing one, during which he won several ATP trophies and played in two Grand Slam finals. He lost the Roland Garros final to Rafael Nadal but surprisingly made the final at the US Open a few months later.
Carlos Alcaraz was the opponent in that one, as many things were at stake. A win for Ruud would have given him his first Grand Slam of course, but also made him the world number one.
It was the same case for Alcaraz and the Spaniard ultimately got it done. Speaking during the UTS special, Ruud remembered how close he was to becoming world number one.
If Alcaraz lost before the final and I made the final I would be number one. He saved match point agaisnt Sinner in the quarter-final so if he lost his match and I made the final I would have been number one.
Ruud has a pretty interesting take on becoming world number one. Ideally, he'd like to become world number one while winning a Grand Slam, so in a sense, he was glad that the US Open went the way it did until the final.
I would rather win Slam and be number one, to do it at once. To be number one and not win a Slam would feel a little strange so I'm happy it was the same for both. We were both playing for world number one and the Grand Slam.
Obviously, Ruud would have preferred to win the event, but ultimately it didn't work out. His preference is generally to win a Slam as opposed to becoming world number one, which is pretty standard for most players.
I wouldn't like to be number one without winning a Slam. I think those kind of go together. I would rather have a Slam and not be number one then be number one and not have a Slam.
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