What happens now?
All of my U.S. Open men’s favorites have been eliminated.
Rafa Nadal wasn’t ready to tackle Frances Tiafoe’s all-out attack.
Jannik Sinner had his one chance and blew it against the amazing talents of teen-ager Carlos Alcaraz.
Top-ranked Daniil Medvedev couldn’t handle Nick Kyrgios’ casual shot-making.
And then Kyrgios couldn’t match Karen Khachanov’s sizzling power and consistency.
Lastly, Andy Murray was just himself, pretty good for his age but not good enough to turn back Matteo Berrettini and his big game.
IS RUUD’S DULL GAME THE BEST?
Now, it gets really interesting. Is Khachanov finally ready to live up to his potential in the semifinals? Otherwise, Casper Ruud will simply win doing what he usually does: Playing near-errorless tennis. That game has given Ruud a shot at being the No. 1 player in the men’s game by the time next week’s world rankings are released.
Ruud is too consistent. So consistent with his good, but not great serve and matching ground strokes that he may be the dullest top player to watch. Of course, like most players with eyes on the crown, he is a terrific fighter.
The 23-year-old Norwegian always seems to leave himself a little room just in case he misses his target just inside a line, and instead hits a line.
Yes, it’s really tough to make the 6-0 Ruud commit an unforced error and go outside the line.
CAN KHACHANOV TAKE NEXT STEP?
Of course, Khachanov is the odd one and the most surprising to make Friday’s semifinals.
The mighty Kyrgios simply came down a notch from his perch as possibly the most talented player in the game, just enough to give the 26-year-old Khachanov a chance.
Maybe Kyrgios got tight and underestimated the wrong Russian.
Poor Daniil. So ready for a second straight U.S. Open title. Now, top Russian Medvedev seems to have the whole world to worry about taking his spot.
IT’S ALCARAZ: LEARN TO SPELL THE NAME
You might as well learn to spell it. Alcaraz appears to be for real.
Wonder Boy Alcaraz doesn’t seem to let his collisions with the court surface to injure his body and legs or his game. If that aspect (falls) of his game continues, the young Spaniard’s stay at No. 1 probably won’t come near Nadal’s longtime success story. Of course, that’s if Alcaraz wins it all in New York.
Give Alcaraz a few years to play like the wild man that took back Sinner’s potential victory in Wednesday night’s marathon five-setter, and the 19-year-old might discover that a hard-court tennis court isn’t always a good place to land his body.
But right now, almost everyone outside of Norway expects Alcaraz to win this U.S. Open.
A DANGEROUS BRIDGE FOR ALCARAZ TO CROSS
Before that championship celebration can happen, Alcaraz has a potentially dangerous bridge to cross in the semifinals.
Tiafoe no longer can be overlooked when it comes to Grand Slam tournament time. The 24-year-old American is much taller and muscular than he looks on TV. He’s 6-2, all muscle and quickness.
Yes, baring a yield to pressure, Tiafoe has the game to take Alcaraz down.
Tiafoe compares physically, except Alcaraz is three inches shorter. And for the records, a 15-year-old Tiafoe was the youngest-ever boys singles champion in the prestigious Orange Bowl junior tournament.
CAN TIAFOE REALLY TAME ALCARAZ?
How could Tiafoe possibly tame Alcaraz?
Not easily, but Tiafoe has a tendency to hit only lines when he goes for winners. Against Nadal, it seemed as if every forehand Tiafoe hit went for a winner when Nadal pulled him far off the court.
Tiafoe’s forehand winners from well outside of the sideline spelled doom for Rafa’s hopes of making the quarterfinals for a 17th straight time in a Grand Slam. Rafa could not overcome that one part of Tiafoe’s game.
TIAFOE NEUTRALIED RAFA’S FOREHAND
The go-for-broke forehands by Taifoe took the left-handed Nadal out of his game. They neutralized Rafa’s famous reverse forehand to what so often has been an open court on his opponents’ forehand side.
Nadal appeared to be unable to solve that situation, and it cost him his first Grand Slam loss of 2022.
Tiafoe may not flash as many acrobatic moves as Alcaraz, but he probably could if he tried real hard. Although maybe not of the behind-the-back winners variety that Alcaraz demonstrated against Sinner. Between the legs, yes, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen a behind-the-back winner. At least not in a major.
It’s a coin flip for me between Alcaraz and Tiafoe, with the survivor capturing a Grand Slam title on Sunday.
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James Beck was the 2003 winner of the USTA National Media Award for print media. A 1995 MBA graduate of The Citadel, he can be reached at Jamesbecktennis@gmail.com.