Casper Ruud defeated Matteo Berrettini 6-1, 6-4, 7-6(4) in the quarterfinals of the US Open men’s draw. He moves to the semifinals. He will either play against Nick Kyrgios or Karen Khachanov in the semifinals.
Match Highlights:
This is Ruud’s first US Open semifinals thereby increasing his chances of reaching the top spot in the World Rankings. He was ruthless in his match with Berrettini on the Arthur Ashe Stadium, frequently cutting through his defenses in a match that lasted two hours and 35 minutes.
“That was a better start than I think I ever had before in a match,” said Ruud.
“Everything was going my way, I was hitting all the spots I needed to plus Matteo maybe didn’t serve as well as he usually does. I was able to take care of the chances that I got.”
“I got a little bit nervous towards the end of the second set because things were almost going too well. It’s good, but sometimes you can get over-excited and start to think you can walk on water…”
“So I had to calm down a little bit, and luckily was able to serve out the second set, and the third set was very tough.”
He will next meet up against the winner in the Kyrgios and Khachanov match.
Should Ruud win the title in New York, he will rise to World No.1. Even if he doesn’t win and Carlos Alcaraz fails to make it to the finals, he will still become the No.1 tennis player in the ATP rankings.
“I don’t want to think too much about it, honestly,” said Ruud on the bid for the No.1 spot.
“It’s something that of course all young players dream about, so if I’m in a position to do it, let’s see if I can accomplish it… Of course, it’s a little bit of extra motivation to dig in, and even if you’re down on the score, to keep fighting.”
“You never know what’s going to happen and if I’m very, very lucky I can leave New York as World No.1. So I’m trying to go for it of course.”
Ruud has enjoyed his time playing in New York, saying that he enjoyed playing in the spacious stadium.
“This court allows me to play those deep returns, obviously, because [there is so much space] behind the baseline,” said Ruud. “That helps. This court is special, it’s really big, the biggest in the world, so I guess I’m liking playing on it and looking forward to the next match.”
