mtenis.com.pl

Norwegian must reach final to have a shot at No. 1
Fifth seed Casper Ruud continued his under-the-radar push towards becoming the new World No. 1 at the US Open after rallying from a set down Wednesday to defeat Dutchman Tim van Rijthoven.

After dropping the first set in a tie-break, the Norwegian rebounded strongly to win 6-7(4), 6-4, 6-4, 6-4.

ATP WTA LIVE | Follow the Pepperstone ATP Race To Turin In Real Time

Ruud, who reached his first major final this year at Roland Garros, saved six of seven breaks points and withstood 52 winners – including 20 aces - from van Rijthoven and will next play the winner of Americans Tommy Paul and Sebastian Korda.

Ruud must make the US Open final to have a chance of finishing the tournament No. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings.

Norwegian survives in five sets
Fifth seed Casper Ruud held his nerve in a five-set battle against home favourite Tommy Paul Friday, punching his ticket into the fourth round of the US Open after claiming a 7-6(3), 6-7(5), 7-6(2), 5-7, 6-0 victory.

Ruud, 10-2 in his past 12 matches, is the first Norwegian man to reach the round of 16 at Flushing Meadows and is one of four players (Medvedev, Nadal, Alcaraz) who can claim the World No. 1 Pepperstone ATP Ranking on 12 September.

“We both were playing well,” Ruud said. “Whenever someone broke, the other guy seemed to break back right away, so it was tough to get the lead and keep going with it. We were always close on the scoreline. It seemed like the only time I could break him was when I was broken first, so that’s not a good sign, but in the fifth set I played some of my best tennis this year and the best tennis I’ve played this tournament.”

Needing four hours, 23 minutes to outlast the American, Ruud emerged as the fresher of the two, as Paul was playing his third consecutive five-set match (d. Zapata Miralles, Korda).

“It’s not everyday you surpass playing four hours on court, but that’s what we train for, we work hard for it,” Ruud said. “I will try to be fresh for Sunday.”

A crucial tipping point in the match came in the third set, when the Norwegian fended off three consecutive set points with Paul serving at 6/5, 40/0 to take a two-sets-to-one lead. Ruud took the third set in a tie-break and despite dropping the fourth, used his fresher legs to pull away in the decider..

Paul, who reached the 2015 US Open boys’ singles final (l. Fritz), frequently worked his forward, winning 38/62 net points. Ruud had the edge in longer baseline exchanges, making 32 fewer unforced errors than Paul’s 82.

Ruud, 23, is having the best season of his career. In June, he reached his maiden Grand Slam final at Roland Garros before falling short to Rafa Nadal. Now with a chance to claim the No. 1 spot in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, this season’s success has been somewhat unexpected for the Oslo native.

“It’s a little surprising, honestly,” Ruud said. “I didn’t think I was going to be in this situation when we started this year. I don’t feel any pressure, I used it as motivation today to think that maybe this is the only chance in my career to win the tournament and become No. 1.”

Ruud, who improves to 41-15 this season, will meet Frenchman Corentin Moutet in the fourth round Sunday.

Norwegian sets Berrettini clash
Casper Ruud recovered from a mid-match wobble at the US Open on Sunday, when he moved past French lucky loser Corentin Moutet 6-1, 6-2, 6-7(4), 6-2 to reach the quarter-finals in New York for the first time.

The Norwegian was pushed to the limit in his five-set third-round win against Tommy Paul, but looked on course for a comfortable victory against Moutet on Arthur Ashe stadium. However, from 4-2 ahead in the third set, the 23-year-old lost concentration and control on his forehand, with Moutet rallying to clinch the set and a foothold in the match.

Ruud was not to be denied, though. He fended off three break points in the fourth set, while he hit his groundstrokes with more depth and spin to eventually advance after three hours and 22 minutes.

"I had a great start and the [two] sets that I won were not showing the real result. It was much tougher,” Ruud said in his on-court interview. “Corentin is a very tricky player. He has all the shots, runs well. He can produce trick shots and everything. I really needed to stay focused and stay sharp and I was playing really well until I got broke back in the third, which was frustrating.

“He raised his level a bit. But [the] fourth set I was able to break him a couple of times and serve good enough luckily. I didn’t change much but I was able to dictate the game more.”

ATP WTA LIVE | Follow the Pepperstone ATP Race To Turin In Real Time

Ruud, who is making his fourth appearance at the hard-court Grand Slam, will next face 13th-seeded Italian Matteo Berrettini. The fifth seed has won three tour-level titles this season, while he reached his maiden Grand Slam final at Roland Garros in June.

Ruud now holds a 42-15 record on the year and has a chance of rising to No. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings after the US Open. He is one of four players - Rafael Nadal, Daniil Medvedev and Carlos Alcaraz - who have the opportunity to finish the US Open as the World No. 1. All but Nadal must reach the championship match to have a chance of leaving New York in top spot. More On Key Matches In Battle For No. 1.



Ruud opened play against Moutet on Arthur Ashe Stadium on Day 7 in New York and it was an experience he relished.

”It has been a dream of mine to play on this court at least one time in my career,” Ruud said when asked about competing on Arthur Ashe Stadium for the first time. “Now I have a win here as well, so I can tell my future kids and grandkids that I played here and that will be a fun story to tell. It was amazing.”

Moutet defeated former World No. 3 Stan Wawrinka, 2021 quarter-finalist Botic van de Zandschulp and Argentine Pedro Cachin to become the first lucky loser on record to reach the fourth round at the US Open. The 23-year-old struggled to deal with Ruud's consistency at times in their first ATP Head2Head meeting and was tough on himself, dropping to the floor to do nine pushups after hitting a poorly executed drop shot at the start of the second set.

Despite defeat, Moutet is up to No. 80 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings following his run in New York.