US Open: Rudd beat Khachanov in the semi-finals, one step away from the world number one

“That was another great match from me,” Casper Rudd said after the achievement. “After the French Open, I thought this might be my only Grand Slam final in my career. I felt like I could do it again after a few months.”

Rudd started with a break but Khachanov quickly made it 2-2. They both exchanged breaks again to make it 4:4. At 4:4 the Russians had a chance, but the Norwegian thwarted them. “At first we were a little nervous, but this match was probably the biggest match of our career so far,” Rudd later admitted.

Everything remained fine until the tiebreak, where Rudd made the initial decision with an average sprint of 3:3 to 6:3 and won 7:5 after 58 minutes.

On the third set ball, they both had the longest rally of the championship to date at 55 strokes – with a better finish for Rod. “Winning the set helped me calm my nerves a little,” he said.

Rod scored 14 points in a row

In the first game of the second set, the 23-year-old missed three break opportunities, but then played as one and didn’t let Khachanov play at all. When he served himself, the Norwegian did not concede a point.

With a 14-point win in a row, he made a 5:1 fast and shortly thereafter won the round 6:2 with the next smooth serve game. Misha Zverev praised “His plane has improved a lot. He always plays the right ball and moves forward at the right moment.” Eurosport.

Rudd later said, “Tennis is also a psychological game. Sometimes it looks very different inside the players than it does on the outside.”

Rod Khachanov’s double broke in the fourth set

But in the fourth set, the Norwegian took the lead again, putting pressure on Khachanov on his first serve, and shortly after a break to make it 2-1. “Old Swede…ah…Norwegian,” Zverev commented on Rudd’s shot that won the first half, and it’s a shot worth watching.

Barbara Ritner, the women’s national coach, later analyzed: “He was more solid on every point. He came back more efficiently. I always had a feeling he could be better.” Eurosport And he was judged: “In the fourth set, there was not enough Khachanov.”

When Rudd shortly thereafter took the service from Khachanov again to make it 4:1, the final wasn’t far off. Exactly after 3:00 in the game, the Norwegian turned his first match point into his biggest success in New York.

“He played great and confirmed the score at the French Open. I’m a fan, he looks good and he can win the championship. I can’t believe I’m saying this – but Casper Rudd could be number one in a few days. In the world,” said tennis legend John McEnroe. Eurosport “I never expected him to be so good on tough courts,” he admitted.

Rod is flying in the world rankings

Ahead of the second semi-final of the US Open, Ruud will even take the hypothetical lead in the rankings and jump to at least second place after the tournament with 5,850 points – if he wins the final, the Norwegian will take first place in the standings.

“I’ll take a look,” Rudd said of course.

For Khachanov, reaching the semi-finals as well as the Olympic silver medal in Tokyo 2021 already meant his biggest career success. The 26-year-old had only reached the quarter-finals twice at Grand Slams before.

The Russian player will climb 13 places in the world rankings and will occupy 18th place after the tournament. The highest level in Khachanov’s career is eight.

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