WHAT HAPPENED: Carlos Alcaraz supercharged what promises to be a glittering Grand Slam career with a historic double at the 2022 US Open.
The 19-year-old Spaniard defeated fifth-seeded Norwegian Casper Ruud, 6-4, 2-6, 7-6(1), 6-3, to earn his first major title and, with it, a debut as world No. 1.
After reaching the final behind a trilogy of five-setters, each ending late in the New York night, Alcaraz finished his marathon run with a three-hour, 20-minute victory early Sunday evening. King Carlos was crowned champion after 23 hours, 40 minutes on court across his seven wins.
“It’s something that I dreamed of since I was a kid—to be No. 1 in the world, to be the champion of a Grand Slam. It's something that I worked really, really hard [for]," Alcaraz said during the trophy ceremony. "It’s tough to talk right now, a lot of emotions.”
With 42 years of age between them—making for the youngest US Open final since Pete Sampras defeated Andre Agassi in 1990—Alcaraz and Ruud thrilled the packed Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd with equal parts speed and athleticism, power and touch, baseline brilliance and frontcourt wizardry.
In a final of firsts, it was Alcaraz's first tiebreak win of the fortnight that put him in pole position. He needed to save two set points at 5-6 in the third set just to get there, before he sent the crowd into a frenzy with a drop shot-lob-overhead combo to escape a five-deuce game—the longest of the match
Ruud could not maintain his sky-high level in that decisive tiebreak, making six errors, four of them unforced, as he dropped seven straight points after opening with an ace.
Aided by two backhand winners, Alcaraz broke for 4-2 in the fourth set, then used two aces in escaping 0-30 for 5-2. After his 13th and 14th aces helped bring up double championship point, an 125-mph service winner out wide clinched the victory, sending him spilling to the court in joy.
The aggressive Alcaraz finished with 55 winners and 41 unforced errors, while Ruud posted a clean 37-to-29 ratio.
In an eventful start just after 4 p.m., both men were aggressive off the return, and both saved a pair of break points in their opening service games. Alcaraz, who powered in clutch serves throughout, got on the board by digging out of 15-40 with four big deliveries, three unreturned and one immediately backed up by a forehand winner.
The Spaniard earned the decisive break in set one before its first changeover, then erased another break point to consolidate. Alcaraz leaned on more strong serving to wrap up the first set with a love hold, directing an understated fist pump towards his player box before slowly striding to his bench.
Ruud was living on the edge early in set two, but broke through in its sixth game by winning four straight points from 30-0 for his first break of the match. He successfully attacked the net—and the Alcaraz backhand—on three of those exchanges, then saved his second break point of the set for 5-2. He would break again for the set, reeling off four straight games to level the match, a hugely satistfying overhead sealing the deal.
Alcaraz quickly turned the tide and threatened to run away with set three, but Ruud got back level after staving off a break point which would have given his opponent a double-break lead at 3-0. That was the last break point of the set until Alcaraz saved two at 5-6, both with fearless drop-volleys.
The Spaniard won 34-of-45 net points on the night, while Ruud was also successful in the frontcourt, winning 23-of-36 net approaches.
Earlier in set three, Alcaraz ended up flat on his stomach after one of the points of the match, his diving flick floating just wide after a herculean effort to extend an outrageous point. As the crowed roared its approval, the Spaniard was able to laugh off the otherworldly exchange.
About an hour later, he got the last laugh, too, after taking a 38-minute fourth set—the shortest of the match—without facing a break point.
"This is something I tried to achieve, all the hard work I did with my team," Alcaraz added. "I'm just 19 years old. All the tough decisions were with my parents and my team. This is something really special for me."
WHAT IT MEANS: The 19-year-old Alcaraz will become the youngest world No. 1 in the history of the ATP rankings (since 1973) by making the joint-biggest jump to the top spot. On Monday, he will rise three places from No. 4 to become the first teenager to reach the pinnacle of men's tennis.
The Spaniard is the youngest Grand Slam champion since a 19-year-old Rafael Nadal won Roland Garros in 2005, and the youngest US Open champ since a 19-year-old Sampras in 1990.
With his four-set final victory, Alcaraz matches Stefan Edberg's 1992 title run, in which the Swede followed three five-set wins with a four-set title triumph against Sampras. Edberg won a five-hour, 26-minute semifinal over Michael Chang in that run, the longest match in US Open history. While Alcaraz's five-hour, 15-minute quarterfinal epic against Jannik Sinner fell just short of that mark, it did set a record for latest US Open finish at 2:50 a.m. in the early hours of Thursday morning.
The Spaniard saved a match point in that contest; he is the first man to win the New York title after saving a match point since Stan Wawrinka in 2016.
Alcaraz improves to 3-0 in a budding rivalry with Ruud, their two 2022 meetings coming in big-stage finals in Miami and New York.
The 23-year-old Ruud was bidding to become the first Norwegian to top the ATP rankings. Instead, he will rise from No. 7 to a new career-high of world No. 2.
Three months after a heavy defeat to Nadal in the Roland Garros final, Ruud said in New York he was "humble enough to think that could be my only [major] final of my career." He put forth an inspired performance in his second opportunity, and this fortnight suggests it will not be his last.
MATCH POINT: With his rise to world No. 1, Alcaraz becomes the first player to take over the top spot immediately following the US Open since his coach, Juan Carlos Ferrero, did it after reaching the 2003 final. Alcaraz was born just months earlier, on May 5, 2003.
