In what pundits have described as ‘monster finals’ and a ‘all or nothing match’, Casper Ruud says he is out for ‘revenge’ when he faces Carlos Alcaraz in the highest-stakes US Open final in memory today.
Not only will the winner take the US Open crown, but also win a maiden major and become the new ATP world number one tomorrow when the rankings are released.
The two have played each other twice before, with the Spaniard winning both, the most recent came this season in the final of the Miami Masters. Ruud says this time is different, however, as this is the perfect time to start evening the score.
“I think if I want to beat Carlos, I’ll need to play very precise with all the shots that I hit, especially try to keep him a little bit further back in the court, to play with good depth and length on all my shots,” Ruud said after he beat Karen Khachanov in his semi-final match on Friday night.
“If he steps in, he can do anything with the ball. He can rip a winner. He also has great touch with the dropshot. I think he has one of the best dropshots on tour. He can do both shots back and forth; it will sort of get you off guard sometimes with the dropshot. If you play with good depth and good length, it’s tougher to hit dropshots. That will be something that I will try to focus on. Yeah, we’re playing for the tournament and also world No. 1. Of course, there will be nerves and we will both feel it.
“I hope it will be a good match. He has beaten me a couple times and I will seek my revenge today.”
