Carlos Alcaraz, the 19-year-old sensation from Spain, has beaten Casper Ruud in the 2022 US Open grand final to win his maiden grand slam title. In what was a thrilling battle, Alcaraz prevailed over his opponent after a 3-hour and 20 minutes battle winning the match 6-4, 3-6, 7-6, 6-3.
Last night, the stage was set for crowning a new major champion. The fact that the winner of the final will climb to the no. 1 position in the ATP rankings made the stakes even higher than they already were.
Seeded at no 3 and 5 for the tournament, both finalists were at the top of their game. While Casper Ruud barely faced challenges throughout the tournament, Alcaraz’s path to the finals was filled with action-packed and extremely close contested matchups. Therefore, Spaniard went to the final as a slight underdog because of concerns regarding his possible fatigue after three consecutive 5-setters.
The Spaniard, however, had a fiery start to the match as he won the first set 6-4. Ruud did not take long to strike back, winning the next set comfortably (6-2). However, the remainder of the match was all Alcaraz. The crucial 3rd set was won by the teen superstar in a hard-fought battle that went into the tie-breaks. Ruud could not come back following that as the 4th set went away from him soon after. With the 6-3 win in the 4th set, Carlos Alcaraz became the new US Open Champion and the youngest grand slam winner since Rafael Nadal.
Adding to that, this major win has secured the no. 1 spot for Alcaraz in the ATP rankings. The Spaniard just became the youngest world no. 1 ever, breaking the record of Lleyton Hewitt. In an interview after the match, he stated his emotions regarding the match and the records that he has broken. “This is something I’ve dreamt of since I was a kid. To be No. 1 in the world, to be a champion.”
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“I always say it’s not time to be tired in the final round of the grand slam, you have to give everything you have inside,” he added.
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Casper Ruud has lost a grand slam final for the second time this year. The Norwegian tennis player was disappointed following his loss. “Today was a special day, both Carlos and I knew what we were playing for and both knew what was a stake,” Ruud remarked in the interview. “I’m disappointed of course that I’m not No. 1, but No. 2 isn’t so bad either.”
With this final, the US Open 2022 comes to an end. This year, the tournament was full of excitement that produced a lot of memorable matches. As it was the last major of the year, now the tennis world will have to wait till 2023 for the next grand slam tournament, the Australian Open.
