Casper Ruud and Carlos Alcaraz are through to the summit clash of the US Open men’s bracket after winning their respective matches.
Ruud, who also reached the final of the French Open before falling to Rafael Nadal, overcame Karen Khachanov 7-6(5) 6-2 5-7 6-2.
Khachanov came into the contest full of confidence after his win over Nick Kyrgios and it showed as the two went toe-to-toe in the first set before Ruud won an extraordinary 55-shot rally to win the tiebreaker and take a one-set lead.
The Norweigan used the momentum to build a 5-1 lead in the second before a string of unforced errors resulted in Khachanov getting a set back to prolong the match.
However, Ruud found his poise again and broke the Russian in the third and fith game to quickly seal the win with his 20th winner of the match and reach the final at the Flushing Meadows for the first time.
Standing between Casper Ruud and a first US Open triumph is the Spanish teenager Carlos Alcaraz who wrote his own history by beating Francis Tiafoe 6-7, 6-3, 6-1, 6-7, 6-3 in a marathon semifinal to book his place in the pinnacle contest.
Alcaraz also spent over five hours in the previous match against Jannik Sinner but ultimately prevailed when it mattered most against the man who famously inflicted Nadal’s only loss in the grand slams this year.
Ruud and Alcaraz have met twice before the US Open final with the Sapinaird holding a 100 percent win record against Ruud. They last met in the Miami Open final with Alcaraz easily prevailing.
