(New York) Casper Ruud, solid winner of Karen Khachanov, qualified for the final of the United States Open where he is waiting to know his rival, Frances Tiafoe or Carlos Alcaraz, the latter still being able to challenge him for the place of N .1 worldwide.
Posted at 6:44 p.m.
It is not so often that the quest for a first major title is coupled with that of accession to the throne of the ATP, in a single match. And it is even rarer that this scenario concerns not only one of the two finalists, but both.
That could happen on Sunday. But the Spanish phenomenon Alcaraz (4e winner of an epic showdown lasting 5:15 a.m. overnight from Wednesday to Thursday against the Italian Jannik Sinner, will first have to defeat the euphoric American Tiafoe in the evening (26e) who hasn’t ceased to impress since knocking out Rafael Nadal in 8e then Andrey Rublev in the quarters.
In the meantime, the Norwegian (7e) 23 years old has passed his penultimate obstacle. He won 7-6 (7/5), 6-2, 5-7, 6-2 at the expense of Khachanov (31e), continuing his journey towards a destiny that he hopes to be golden this time at Flushing Meadows, three months after having failed to win a first Major at Roland-Garros, where he could not do anything in the final against the ogre of the ocher Nadal.
“Fabulous tennis”
I still had a very good game. We were both very nervous at the start, but that’s normal, we must not forget that it was for him as for me the most important match of our career. Roland-Garros could have been the only final of my career, but here I am again at this stage and I am very happy.
Casper Ruud
After an exchange of pleasantries, consisting of a successful break by one, immediately erased by the other, the first set ended in a decisive game. Ruud escaped to lead 6-3, thanks to a high backhand volley after a first sent back by reflex, then concluded on his third opportunity, after a rally of 55 shots exchanged, thanks to a violent backhand long line that pushed the Russian to the fault.
PHOTO JOHN MINCHILLO, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Karen Khachanov
During this exchange, the Norwegian showed off his ability to defend very well, despite several attacks from his opponent, to ultimately counter. He didn’t have to work so hard in the next set, as there was only one man on the court, with Ruud winning 30 of 41 points contested and all of his shutout games.
“I played fabulous tennis in the 2e set,” he agreed after the game.
Cape crossed on hard
In the third set, Khachanov nevertheless regained consistency in his game, especially in service, and was more aggressive, as he had been able to be in the previous round against the Australian Nick Kyrgios. He was awarded at the 12e game, converting his first set point on an opposing service.
Match restarted? Not quite, because Ruud did not give his opponent time to believe in a fantastic comeback. He snatched the serve twice in a row to escape 4-1, then held on to his advantage without shaking, finishing the deal in just over three hours on the Arthur Ashe.
A specialist in clay, on which he has won eight of his nine titles on the circuit, including three in 2022 in Buenos Aires, Geneva and Gstaad, with in the meantime a lost final at Roland-Garros against Rafael Nadal, Ruud passes a big cap on cement this season.
In April, he made it to the final at the Masters 1000 in Miami. Ease confirmed at the Masters 1000 in Montreal in early August where he reached the last four.
In New York, he made his way rather quietly during the fortnight, pushed only once in five sets by the American Tommy Paul in 3e round, before raising his game more and more at the expense of the Italian Matteo Berrettini in the quarterfinals, then against Khachanov.
Here he is at the gates of the greatest performance of his career.