By defeating Karen Khachanov 76 62 57 62 Casper Ruud keeps all his dreams alive.
By Kingsley Elliot Kaye
Is Casper Ruud going to follow in the steps of Dominic Thiem, the Austrian who, after losing two Roland Garros finals to Rafa Nadal, went on to triumph at the US Open 2020?
“I’m just so happy. After Roland Garros I was of course extremely happy but at the same time humble enough to think that that could be my only final in a grand slam in my career. That doesn’t come so easy. And here I am a couple of months later and it feels beyond words to describe,” Ruud said in his after match interview.
As the match took off, an unexpected array of unforced errors coming from both sides disappointed those who were expecting lengthy, breath-catching rallies from two players who are renowned for their consistency. Khachanov was far from his serving standards of his previous match, when he had fired just one ace less than Kyrgios, 30. Ruud and Khachanov traded breaks twice, then quite flatly trudged on to a tiebreak.
A netted forehand cost the Russian a minibreak. Ruud maintained his lead and took the tiebreak finishing off a 55 shot rally with a backhand down the line.
“We were both a bit nervous at the beginning. This match is probably the biggest match for both of our careers and of course there will always be some nerves. I was fortunate to win in that first set, which calmed my nerves a little bit.“
Khachanov came back from 0-40 in the first game of the second set, but in the third game his forehand started letting him down. He lost 4 straight games. Ruud played with due diligence and closed the set 62, never dropping a point on serve.
Khachanov deserves full credit for putting up a battle in the third set. He even earned a break point in the fourth game, but Ruud saved it with a blazing forehand.
The set seemed to be heading toward a tiebreak, when Ruud suddenly blacked out in the 12th game: A double fault, a netted backhand, a forehand sprayed wide and a routinary inside out forehand entrapped halfway up the net: the Russian took the set 75.
On the spur of the momentum Khachanov tried a few hazardous shots in the first game of the fourth set and risked being broken. He got away with it. But he lost his next game on serve, Ruud well pressuring with his forehand and conquering the most spectacular rally of the match with a smashing forehand down the line on the run, which evoked memories of Ivan Lendl.
Ruud broke again in the fifth game. Few minutes later he had match point and ended with a flourish: an elegant dropshot after forcing Khachanov further and further back with a succession of inside out forehands.
In the final set Ruud was definitely playing his best tennis. But he did go through a few tough moments in which his level slumped. Yet, on court he never appeared in low spirits or frustrated. What’s his secret?
“Tennis is a psychological game as well as physical. Sometimes we are trying to act like we have good posture. On the inside we probably feel different so there is a bit of acting as well in sports. I don’t know how I’m able to do it. I take some deep breaths and think that of course it is an important match but there will hopefully be hundreds of more matches in my career so it’s not the end of the world if it doesn’t go my way. Of course, you want to take care of the opportunities you have and I was able to do that today.“
His next opponent will be either Carlos Alcaraz or Frances Tiafoe, two players who do not refrain from showing their emotions on court. This contrast will add extra spice to the show.