A day after world No. 1 Iga Swiatek and Ons Jabeur booked their spots in what will surely be a high-quality, historic women’s singles final at the US Open, the four remaining men in the singles draw also learned (or, perhaps more appropriately, earned) their fates across two contentious semifinals.
— Carlos Alcaraz (@carlosalcaraz) September 10, 2022
Carlos Alcaraz and Casper Ruud made sure the men’s final will be just as seismic. The rising stars will both compete in their first US Open final, seeking their maiden Grand Slam trophy, with the world No. 1 ranking also on the line.
whoops, @carlosalcaraz did it again 😱 pic.twitter.com/QxNMQ6F3bp
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 10, 2022
American Rajeev Ram and Great Britain’s Joe Salisbury earned the 2022 US Open’s first trophy in men’s doubles.
Falling down on the stairs!
It was worth it for that @carlosalcaraz signed ball 🎾 pic.twitter.com/PASyuB0AlA
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 10, 2022
Ruud breezes past Khachanov:
A gift for your highlight-loving eyes.@CasperRuud98 wins an incredible 55-ball rally on set point. 😮💨 pic.twitter.com/VMDkX4Q4Ew
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 9, 2022
No. 5 seed Casper Ruud of Norway may not be the most familiar face remaining at the 2022 US Open: Mostly, the former clay-court specialist lets his game speak for itself. The 23-year-old Ruud, the son of former tennis player Christian Ruud (who is also his coach), was runner-up to Rafael Nadal at this year’s French Open and, by all accounts, is a pretty good golfer.
Both Karen Khachanov and Ruud roared out of the gate, but the Norwegian made it count when it mattered most—mostly, during a first-set tiebreak that tilted the No. 5 seed’s way. Ruud claimed the second set with relative ease by finding the right angles, but couldn’t overcome his 27th-seeded opponent’s aggressive hitting in set three. Still, by the fourth and final set, Ruud was firmly in control.
They said WHATTTTTTTTTT?!?
The season finale of The Changeover starts now ⬇️ https://t.co/u1CQFvT1cd
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 9, 2022
The standout of this match: a 55-shot rally on set point in the first-set tiebreak, which Ruud ultimately won with equal parts precision, power and—perhaps above all else—patience. Those qualities define Ruud’s overall play style, and were key to his on-court success Thursday.
Ruud will almost certainly put up a fight in the final given his high ranking, his experience in a Grand Slam final and relative lack of time on-court compared to Alcaraz. He advanced with a sometimes tight, but mostly dominant, semifinal victory over Khachanov: 7-6(5), 6-2, 5-7, 6-2.
“This match is probably the biggest match for all of our careers,” Ruud said in a post-match, on-court interview.
Casper Ruud knows chances for a Grand Slam 🏆 don't come easy.
He'll get his second shot in 2022 on Sunday. pic.twitter.com/eMYNS5E3gY
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 9, 2022
Later, in a post-match press conference, he added: “In the third set, Karen served well. I couldn’t return or make him play anything from his serves. In the fourth, I was able to return a little bit better again and play more for the rallies. Very happy with the performance and that I was able to bounce back after losing the third set.”
Ruud also said he was “humble enough to think that [this year’s Roland Garros championship match] could be the only final Grand Slam in my career.” Still, any anxiety about this match certainly wasn’t apparent during this semifinal. The key to his calm?
“Tennis is a psychological game, as it is physical,” Ruud said. “There’s a bit of acting as well in sports.”
Alcaraz wins (another) five-setter, this one against Tiafoe:
It was a men’s semifinal with all the hype of a marquee final: Tennis prodigy Carlos Alcaraz of Spain, the No. 3 singles seed at the 2022 US Open, competed against a resurgent Frances Tiafoe of the United States in Arthur Ashe Stadium—a primetime blockbuster. This, less than 48 hours after Alcaraz squeaked out a victory over Italian Jannik Sinner in the US Open’s latest-ever match, which ended after five hours and five sets at 2:50 a.m. in the early hours of Thursday morning.
Tiafoe, who has consistently played great—and occasionally brilliant—tennis this tournament, was at his best in the first set, which he won, 7-6(6), after 64 minutes of play. He couldn’t quite match that level in the following two sets, which Alcaraz claimed, 6-3 and 6-1. The American found a way in the fourth, saving a match point and capitalizing on every rare opportunity to reach and then claim another tiebreak.
Alcaraz immediately went up a break in the decider. Tiafoe grabbed three games, but ultimately couldn’t complete the comeback as Alcaraz won on his fourth match point. Final score: 6-7(6), 6-3, 6-1, 7-6(5), 6-3.
“This one really, really hurts,” Tiafoe said in a post-match, on-court interview. “[Carlos] is a hell of a player, hell of a person. I’m gonna come back and I am gonna win this thing one day, I promise. I’m sorry, guys.”
“We are in the semifinal of a Grand Slam, we have to give everything we have,” Alcaraz said in a subsequent on-court interview. “You have to give everything on court. Frances gave everything on court … It’s amazing to fight for big things. First time in the final of a Grand Slam. I have one more to go against a player who plays unbelievable. I’m gonna give everything that I have. I will have to handle the nerves … I’m going to enjoy the moment and we’ll see what happens.”
The men’s final will mark Alcaraz’s first Grand Slam tournament final, and comes with the added prize of the world No. 1 ranking for the winner.
Top seeds Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury win men’s doubles
Rajeev Ram, the doubles specialist from Illinois, and Joe Salisbury, the world No. 1 doubles player from Great Britain, successfully defended their 2021 US Open men’s doubles title on Friday afternoon. The pair defeated second-seeded opponents Wesley Koolhof of the Netherlands and Neal Skupski, also of Great Britain, 7-6(4), 7-5.
An all-American team could potentially win the women’s doubles competition: Caty McNally and Taylor Townsend downed American Caroline Dolehide and Aussie Storm Sanders, 1-6, 6-3, 6-3, in a Friday semifinal in Louis Armstrong Stadium.
No. 1 seeds rule in wheelchair competitions:
No. 1 seeds Diede De Groot, Shingo Kunieda and Niels Vink each have a chance to win their respective events: wheelchair women’s singles, wheelchair men’s singles and wheelchair quad singles. Each player scored a huge semifinal victory on Friday at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.
Juniors:
The girls’ single final will see No. 10 seed Alexandra Eala of the Philippines compete against No. 2 seed Lucie Havlickova of the Czech Republic. Havlickova is also seeded first in girls’ doubles with partner Diana Shnaider; the two will compete in the title match against Germany’s Carolina Kuhl and Ella Seidel.
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