Casper Ruud continued his rise in the tennis sphere with a win over Matteo Berrettini helping him reach the US Open last four for the first time in his career.
The Norwegian, who can attain the no. 1 rank in the world at the end of this week, battled past the Italian 6-1 6-4 7-6(4).
The French Open runner-up used his previous match experience against Berrettini to sit back and absorb his power instead of trading shots with the 13th seed. His plan worked masterfully as he stormed to a 5-1 lead in the second set after already winning the first.
But Berrettini, who has endured a difficult season this year due to injury or illness, found his footing to fight back. He managed to break Ruud early in the third before saving four break attempts in the third in an attempt to extend the contest.
Ruud staged a comeback of his own, getting the break back in the ninth before winning the tiebreak to seal the contest against Berrettini and reaching his first-ever US Open semifinal in the process.
Standing in his way and another grand slam final appearance is Karen Khachanov of Russia who sprung another surprise at this year’s US Open by eliminating heavy favourite Nick Kyrgios.
Kyrgios, who sent the defending champion Daniil Medvedev packing in the previous round, blew hot and cold in the contest before being beaten 7-5, 4-6, 7-5, 6-7 (3), 6-4.
With Nadal, Djokovic and Medvedev out of the way, the Wimbledon finalist was seen as a surefire pick to win his first grand slam before losing to Khachanov who will now contest his first major semifinal.
