WHAT HAPPENED: No. 5 seed Casper Ruud fended off what was shaping up to be the comeback of the tournament at the 2022 US Open on Tuesday afternoon, holding a late-arriving Matteo Berrettini to just three sets, 6-1, 6-4, 7-6(4), to reach the semifinals.
Ruud’s win marks the first time a Norwegian man has ever made it to the US Open semifinals. He’s also broken new ground for his country as the first Norwegian to have reached the final of a major, a feat he achieved at Roland Garros this spring, and the first to crack the Top 5 in the ATP rankings. Now, he has the world No. 1 ranking within reach. While he’s often known for thriving on clay, his performance this fortnight on the hard courts of Flushing Meadows indicates he’s adapting well to the asphalt.
The first two sets of Tuesday’s contest were all one-way traffic in the Norwegian’s direction, allowing Ruud to take a 6-1, 5-1 lead. After 55 minutes of play, everything–literally, everything–was falling Ruud’s way. The big-hitting Italian couldn’t seem to find the court, striking a staggering 20 unforced errors, while Ruud only committed two until this stage of the match. The No. 5 seed was on fire, neutralizing every ounce of power that Berrettini sent his way. On the other side of the net was a completely different story, as the Italian’s shots consistently fell out of range, leaving the No. 13 seed scratching his head trying to find an answer for the near flawless performance from Ruud.
But when Berrettini finally managed his third hold of serve of the match to reach 2-5, the bear had awoken to take the next two games, including a hold at love, before Ruud closed out the two-set lead on his serve.
“That was a better start than I've ever had before in a match. Everything was going my way, I was hitting my spots, and taking advantage of the chances I got,” Ruud said after the victory. “I got nervous at the end of the second set, things were just going too well. When that happens, you get too excited, and start thinking you can walk on water, so I had to calm down a bit.”
The momentum that Berrettini summoned near the end of the second set carried well into the third as Ruud’s level began to drop. Errors off the Norwegian’s racquet started piling up as Berrettini turned up the pressure by stepping into the court. The Italian was now in the driver’s seat, taking more control of the points to the tune of a 5-2 lead. But Ruud was not backing down yet. He claimed the next three games to level it at 5-5 before the third set reached a tiebreak.
Just before walking on court, Ruud offered up a key match insight saying that the player who can connect on the most forehands would fare better. His tactic proved true, when a penetrating forehand at 6-4 in the tiebreak forced a shot long from Berrettini and earned him the victory.
WHAT IT MEANS: By advancing to the semifinals, Ruud remains in contention for reaching the world No. 1 ranking by tournament’s end. His fate will depend on whether he can reach the final, as well as how Carlos Alcaraz fares through the tournament. Up next for Ruud will be the winner between No. 23 Nick Kyrgios and No. 27 Karen Khachanov.
Berrettini falls to 0-8 against Top 10 opponents at a Grand Slam. He finished with 39 unforced errors in the match and 13 aces.
MATCH POINT: Prior to their quarterfinal encounter at the 2022 US Open, Ruud and Berrettini were the hardest workers in the room according to the USTA’s Tennis Physicality Index, a metric that analyzes a player’s total distance and workload, as well as high-speed distance and explosive movement. Combined, the two had covered 12 miles of asphalt over 4 hours and 18 minutes of active play time.
