The US Open is more than just a final between Casper Ruud and Carlos Alcaraz but a fight to claim the world number 1 position.
The Grand slam (US Open) will be the first of any of the players and the winner will be able to claim the world number 1 spot.
Many would have thought the one and only Rafael Nadal would have gone home with the prize like he did in the French Open.
But it is the other way round with Casper Ruud the Spaniard’s opponent in the Roland Garros that will play against Carlos Alcaraz.
Five players came into this year’s US Open with a chance of leaving the tournament as the world number one, with Rafael Nadal, Daniil Medvedev and Stefanos Tsitsipas also having that opportunity.
Medvedev and Tsitsipas eliminated themselves from contention following their fourth and first round defeats, respectively.
Despite his loss to Frances Tiafoe in the fourth round, Nadal was still in with a chance of becoming the new world number one if neither Alcaraz nor Ruud reached the final.
Who is Casper Ruud?
Casper Ruud is a Norwegian professional tennis player. Ruud has a career-high singles ranking of world No. 5, achieved on 13 June 2022, making him the highest-ranked Norwegian tennis player in history.
He has won nine ATP Tour singles titles, eight of which were on clay courts. Ruud is the first Norwegian man to win an ATP singles title, to reach a major final (at the 2022 French Open), to reach a Masters 1000 final, and to enter the top 10 in the ATP rankings. In doubles, he has a career-high ranking of world No. 133, which he achieved after reaching the quarterfinals of the 2021 Wimbledon Championships.
Ruud did not participate in 2022 Australian Open due to an injury.
Shortly after his recovery, he entered the Argentina Open at which he defeated Diego Schwartzman in the final and clinched his seventh career ATP singles title.
At the French Open, Ruud defeated Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who was playing his last professional match, Emil Ruusuvuori, Lorenzo Sonego, and 12th seed Hubert Hurkacz to advance to his first ever major quarterfinal, becoming the first Norwegian to reach the fourth round and beyond at this major.
In the first all-Scandinavian French Open quarterfinal, he defeated Holger Rune to set up a match with also first-time Roland Garros semifinalist Marin Čilić.
He reached the final with four sets win over Cilic, and became the first Norwegian man in history to reach a Grand Slam final.
He fell in straight sets to Rafael Nadal, but as a result of his performance he moved to a new career-high singles ranking of World No. 6 on 6 June 2022 and to World No. 5 a week later.
Who is Carlos Alcaraz?
Carlos Alcaraz is a Spanish professional tennis player. He has been ranked as high as world No. 4 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). Alcaraz has won five ATP Tour singles titles, including two Masters 1000 titles, and is producing his best Grand Slam performance at the 2022 US Open.
He is in the final, and will be competing for the title and the World No. 1 ranking on September 11th.
Alcaraz was ranked as high as world No. 22 and won two titles on the ITF Junior Circuit. After turning professional in 2018, he won three titles on the ITF Men’s World Tennis Tour and four on the ATP Challenger Tour and broke into the top 100 in rankings in May 2021.
Two months later, Alcaraz reached his first ATP Tour final at the 2021 Croatia Open, an ATP 250 tournament, where he won his first title. He later entered the top 50 after reaching the quarterfinals at the following US Open and won the year-end 2021 Next Generation ATP Finals in Milan.
After winning his first ATP 500 title at the Rio Open in February 2022, Alcaraz won his first ATP Tour Masters 1000 title at the Miami Open and his second ATP 500 title at the Barcelona Open in April, propelling him into the top 10.
Alcaraz entered the 2022 US Open as the No. 3 seed with a chance to become the youngest world No. 1 after the tournament with reaching the championship match or winning the title.
This is a game to watch as both player are fighting for the silverware and also the world number 1 position in tennis.
