U.S. Open Live Updates: Alcaraz Leads Tiafoe in the Fifth Set

To reach the semifinal, Ruud beat Kyle Edmund, Tim van Rijthoven, Tommy Paul, Corentin Moutet and Matteo Berrettini.

Khachanov’s path to the semifinal included victories over Denis Kudla, Thiago Monteiro, Jack Draper and Pablo Carreño Busta. In the quarterfinal, Khachanov pulled out a tough win against Nick Kyrgios of Australia, besting him in five sets, 7-5, 4-6, 7-5, 6-7(3), 6-4.

Khachanov and Ruud split the first 12 games of the first set, breaking each other twice, as they appeared to test each other out, seeing how long the other could extend a rally and respond to a drop shot or slice. Before Friday’s semifinal, Ruud and Khachanov had only played each other once, in Rome, where Ruud defeated Khachanov.

In the tiebreaker of the first set, Ruud appeared to gain some command, playing confidently at the net, going up 6-3 with a backhand volley winner.

Ruud closed out the set, winning the tiebreaker 7-5, on a rally that went to 55 shots. As Ruud won the point and the set, the crowd in Arthur Ashe Stadium, which had been relatively tame until that point, erupted.

Before that set, Ruud had performed well in tiebreakers this year, with a record of 21-12. Khachanov had won 11 tiebreakers and lost 14 thus far this year.

Ruud appeared to settle in after winning the first set, going up 4-1 in the second set. In the next game, Rudd extended his lead to 5-1, giving up no points and winning on a forehand shot down the line.

Trailing in the set, Khachanov had some vocal support from the upper levels of Ashe as a couple of fans would occasionally chant “Karen, Karen.” But Ruud also had his fans in the stadium yelling “Casper” and two fans sitting three rows behind a baseline waving small Norwegian flags.

Ruud closed out the second set, 6-2, giving up no points in the final game of the set.

Down 30-0 in the second game of the third set, Khachanov lobbed a ball up into the air. Knowing that Ruud was going to take advantage and hit a forehand smash, Khachanov didn’t bother to run for the return and instead he walked to grab a towel. Ruud won the point and the game to bring the third set to a game each.

While Khachanov wasn’t interested in trying to return that smash, he continued to fight back and hold his service games. After ten games in the third set, the two players were tied at 5-5.

Then, trailing in the set at 6-5, Ruud failed to hang on. Khachanov won the third set, 7-5, pushing the match to a fourth.

The floodlights in Ashe turned on after the first game of the fourth set, and it seemed something lit up in Ruud, too.

Ruud held a game on his serve, and then broke Khachanov, winning the game on a commanding forehand to take a lead in the fourth set at 2-1. Ruud won the next game, and broke Khachanov again, winning the break on a powerful smash that stirred the crowd.

Ruud, up 4-1, had his first U.S. Open final in sight. He held his serve again, extending his lead to 5-1, but Khachanov refused to lose the match on his serve and pushed it to 5-2, finishing the game with an ace.

Ruud, now ready to close things out, won the fourth set and the match, giving up no points in the final game, winning on the forehand that he had relied on so heavily.

As Ruud approached the net to shake hands with Khachanov, fans in the crowd let out a booming, “Ruuuuud.”

“Of course, there will always be some nerves, but I was fortunate to win that first set,” Ruud said on the court after the match.

Ruud becomes the first Norwegian U.S. Open men’s finalist. By reaching the final, Ruud could jump to No. 1 if Alcaraz loses his semifinal match or if Ruud wins the final.

Ruud now awaits the winner between Tiafoe and Alcaraz. Ruud has never played Tiafoe, and he has lost to Alcaraz twice.

Earlier this year, Alcaraz defeated Ruud in the final of the Masters 1000 tournament in Miami on a hard court. Alcaraz also beat Ruud on clay last year at a tournament in Marbella, Spain.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/live/2022/09/09/sports/tiafoe-alcaraz-us-open