The Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz won his first Grand Slam title at the US Open and is now the youngest world number one in tennis history.
The 19-year-old defeated the 23-year-old Norwegian Casper Ruud in the final of the US Open in New York on Monday night (September 12th, 2022) 6: 4, 2: 6, 7: 6 (7: 1), 6:3 through.
He was rewarded twice: Alcaraz clinched his first victory in his first Grand Slam final and replaced the Russian Daniil Medvedev as the leader in the world rankings. There has never been a younger number one than Alcaraz among men.
“Something I’ve always dreamed of”
“It’s something I’ve always dreamed of: being number one in the world and a champion at a Grand Slam,” said Alcaraz. “It’s hard for me to talk about it right now. I have a lot of emotions.” The last time there was a younger winner at the US Open was 32 years ago by the American Pete Sampras. Alcaraz received prize money of 2.6 million US dollars for the win.
The defeated Ruud, who could have been the first Norwegian to win the Grand Slam tournament and also the world number one, will receive $ 1.3 million. “Of course I’m disappointed that I won’t be number one,” said Ruud: “I’ll keep trying to win a Grand Slam.”
Hardships of the tournament at Alcaraz visible
A minute’s silence was observed before the first serve at Arthur Ashe Stadium in front of about 24,000 spectators on the anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack. The match on the day after the women’s final, in which the Pole Iga Swiatek won 6: 2, 7: 6 (7: 5) against the Tunisian Ons Jabeur, now three-time Grand Slam winner, started competitively with slight advantages for Alcaraz. He kept flashing his special athleticism, acted more offensively and finally got through an early break.
But Ruud stayed tuned and Alcaraz showed the first signs of a somewhat cracked physique. The enormous strains of the previous six games with a total playing time of 20:19 hours made themselves felt. His stroke selection got worse and the Norwegian didn’t have to be asked twice and equalized after sets.
Tactics now played an increasingly important role and Ruud seemed to sense that Alcaraz was no longer able to walk as quickly, but was unable to use two set balls and the fiercely fighting Spaniard snapped in the tie-break. Alcaraz wanted to know now and put Ruud under heavy pressure. He made the break to make it 4:2 and was then unstoppable on the way to the title.