Casper Ruud on Friday claimed a 55-shot point to end the first set of his US Open semi-final while building a big lead against Karen Khachanov and held on for a 7-6 (7/5), 6-2, 5-7, 6-2 victory that put him in his second Grand Slam title match of the year.
Ruud, the runner-up to Rafael Nadal at the French Open in June, is a 23-year-old from Norway who can move from No. 7 to No. 1 in the rankings by winning the championship at Flushing Meadows.
“After Roland Garros, I was, of course, extremely happy, but also humble enough to think that could be my only final of my career,” Ruud said.
Photo: AP
However, he is back at that stage just a few months later.
His opponent in the final is No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz of Spain.
Ruud is coached by his father, former professional player Christian, and their game plan worked perfectly for most of the day against the 31st-ranked Khachanov, a 1.98m Russian with a powerful serve who eliminated Wimbledon runner-up Nick Kyrgios in five sets in the quarter-finals.
Photo: AFP
To mitigate the effect of Khachanov’s serves, Ruud would stand way behind the baseline to return, then look to dominate exchanges from the baseline. Ruud used flawless footwork for side-to-side defense and found openings to deliver deep groundstrokes that could finish off points.
He came up with occasional brilliance, such as the over-the-shoulder volley winner that put him ahead 6-3 in the tiebreaker.
Moments later came the point of the match, on Ruud’s third opportunity to end that set. It lasted 75 seconds and contained 19 more strokes than the second-longest rally of the two-week tournament, culminating with a down-the-line backhand by Ruud that drew a netted forehand in response.
Dad smiled.
His son raised both arms and put up two fingers on his right hand.
“We both just refused to do a mistake, knowing how important that point is,” Ruud said. “Towards the end, the pulse was getting very high and the legs were almost shaking.”
Khachanov could not recall a 55-shot rally in his career and although he hated to lose it, he was initially encouraged afterward by the way he played at the end of the set.
“I felt pumped in a way that we had this long rally, we were moving both,” he said. “I felt like: ‘OK, it’s a painful one to lose a set with this point.’ On the other side I felt like: ‘OK, now we’re moving a lot, let’s keep on going.’”
Ruud broke to go up 2-1 in the second set and was on his way there. After Khachanov surged late in the third to make things slightly more intriguing, Ruud broke to lead 2-1 in the fourth, ripping a down-the-line forehand winner from the doubles alley.
In the women’s singles, Iga Swiatek was to play Ons Jabeur early this morning Taiwan time.
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