WHAT HAPPENED: Once upon a time, Casper Ruud was an afterthought on the fast-playing hard courts of North America. The Norwegian, known for his clay-court prowess first and foremost, entered last year’s US Open with a 3-4 lifetime record at Flushing Meadows—not exactly a ledger to write home about.
What a difference a year makes.
Last year’s US Open runner-up is a legitimate force on the hard courts these days and he demonstrated that on Monday as he battled past hard-hitting American Emilio Nava, 7-6(5), 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(5), for his tenth career US Open win and his seventh in his last eight contests in Queens.
The victory marks the Oslo native’s 200th career win–a milestone well-earned, in a hard-fought three hours and 17 minutes.
Ruud, who fell to Carlos Alcaraz in four sets in last year’s US Open final, hasn't found his footing on the hard courts just yet in 2023. He entered today's first-round clash with the 21-year-old on a two match losing streak, carrying a 6-8 record on the surface for the year.
But that could be changing.
What Ruud may lack in form at the moment, he made up for with experience on an overcast yet muggy day on Court 17. Now a three-time Grand Slam finalist, the 24-year-old knows a thing or two about keeping an even keel in pressure moments, and he had to stay the course as Nava rained winners with high-risk forehands to make the match far more competitive than the ranking disparity between the two talents would have suggested.
154th-ranked Nava, a qualifier at Flushing Meadows this year and a boys’ singles runner-up at the Open in 2019, was on the front foot for much of the contest, striking 72 winners to just 27 for Ruud, but he didn’t rise to the challenge on the biggest moments in sets one and three as Ruud took control of the contest.
Ruud broke for a two sets to one lead when Nava tossed in a shaky service game while serving at 4-5, and not long after the Norwegian slashed a backhand winner down the line to break for 4-2 in the fourth set.
Nava broke back and forced things to a fourth-set tiebreak, but Ruud delivered an epic lob winner, which soared over the head of a leaping Nava with the American serving at 4-5 in the tiebreak, to set up two match points.
The second was the charm. Two points later, the potential upset had been averted.
WHAT IT MEANS: Ruud is sitting pretty in a quarter of the draw that has already seen No.4-seeded Holger Rune depart on Day 1. The No.5 seed will face China’s Zhang Zhizhen, the world No. 67, in the second round.
Though Ruud has struggled at times to reproduce the elite level he achieved in 2022, when he won 51 matches and claimed three titles, he is proving that he can raise his level at the majors in 2022.
For Nava, the loss registers as a near miss, but a clear sign that the former junior No. 5 has the firepower to become a force on tour. Some more seasoning and he’ll be one to look out for.
MATCH POINT: Last year in New York, then-23-year-old Ruud became the youngest man to reach two Grand Slam finals in a single season since Rafael Nadal in 2008. Having already played the final in Paris this year, he’s now reached the final in three of his last six major appearances.
