Casper Ruud vs Carlos Alcaraz – Men’s Final – Preview & Prediction | 2022 US Open
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THE FACTS
When is Casper Ruud vs Carlos Alcaraz on and what time does it start? Casper Ruud vs Carlos Alcaraz will take place on Sunday 11th September, 2022 – not before 21:00 (UK)
Where is Casper Ruud vs Carlos Alcaraz taking place? Casper Ruud vs Carlos Alcaraz will take place at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York, USA
What surface is Casper Ruud vs Carlos Alcaraz being played on? Casper Ruud vs Carlos Alcaraz will take place on an outdoor hard court
Where can I get tickets for Casper Ruud vs Carlos Alcaraz? Visit this link for the latest ticket information for Casper Ruud vs Carlos Alcaraz
What channel is Casper Ruud vs Carlos Alcaraz on in the UK? Casper Ruud vs Carlos Alcaraz will be televised live on the Amazon Prime Video app on Smart TVs
Where can I stream Casper Ruud vs Carlos Alcaraz in the UK? Amazon Prime subscribers can stream Casper Ruud vs Carlos Alcaraz live on Prime Video
THE LOWDOWN
CASPER RUUD
World number seven Casper Ruud is through to the second Grand Slam final of his career, and season, after finishing runner-up to Rafael Nadal at Roland-Garros in June. The 23-year-old overcame a battling performance by Karen Khachanov in four sets on Friday to back-up some excellent results over the likes of Tommy Paul and Matteo Berrettini this fortnight. Ruud has won three ATP titles this season on his favoured clay from Buenos Aires, Geneva and Gstaad to take his career total to nine after winning five out of five finals last season.
CARLOS ALCARAZ
World number four Carlos Alcaraz reached the first Grand Slam final of his career after ousting an impressive Frances Tiafoe in five sets on Saturday night, backing-up one of the matches of the century on Friday in a five-set epic with Jannik Sinner. The teenager burst onto the world stage here last season with a run to the quarter-finals that was halted by injury but he blossomed into a suitable future world number one this year when he won four titles in the space of three months on clay at the Rio Open, Barcelona Open and two Masters events in Miami, where he beat Casper Ruud in the final, and Madrid. Amongst his many achievements this year, Alcaraz became the first player to beat Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal back-to-back on clay and he was the youngest world number five since Nadal back in 2005.
THE PREDICTION
When Casper Ruud and Carlos Alcaraz met at the Miami Open final back in March it could scarcely be imagined that the pair would face off six months later in a bid to be world number one and US Open champion. Tennis’ rankings have been skewed for several seasons now after the covid-19 pandemic and this summer’s controversial points ban at Wimbledon but the fact of the matter is that, even if points had been awarded at SW19, Novak Djokovic would still be world number seven and these two players would still be vying for world number one by winning the US Open.
Ruud’s draw has been a story of fierce confidence in the face of other players falling by the wayside as he enforced himself on an out-of-sorts Matteo Berrettini and then made the most of Nick Kyrgios’ faltering to face Karen Khachanov in the semi-finals. He has played some of the tennis of his young career this week. There are suitable comparisons to be made with Dominic Thiem, who was also labelled as a clay-court specialist destined to one day win Roland-Garros before vastly improving his hardcourt game to claim his maiden Grand Slam title in New York two years ago. Ruud has already played a Grand Slam final this season, finishing runner-up to his idol Rafael Nadal in a match that looked over before it began as the Norwegian could barely wipe the awe from his face. This time around he faces a teenage prodigy being touted as the favourite and destined world number one, and that will be a completely different motivation for the 23-year-old as he bids to become the first Norwegian to top the rankings.
Meanwhile, Alcaraz’s last three matches have been world-beating battles in five sets against three completely different players in big-serving Marin Cilic, the unflappable Jannik Sinner and a home favourite full of confidence in Frances Tiafoe. The Spaniard has passed every single test with flying colours to win more fans to his cause and he will be the tournament darling on Sunday as much as Emma Raducanu was here last season. Alcaraz beat Ruud on a US hardcourt to win the Miami Open back in March, leading the Norwegian 2-0 in their head-to-head record, but it should not come so easy this time around with so much on the line. Despite recent improvements, Alcaraz endured a somewhat choppy summer by his high standards in losing back-to-back tour finals in Hamburg and Umag but that should only inspire a little caution here in picking him to win handsomely. Back Alcaraz to win the US Open and become world number one.
