Watch: Casper Ruud’s insane 55-shot rally, longest of US Open, that sealed his finals spot
Casper Ruud won the first set against Karen Khachanov after an insane 55-shot rally. Ruud qualified for the US Open 2022 final after defeating Khachanov.
Casper Ruud’s 55-shot point win against Karen Khachanov in the first set of the US Open 2022 semi-final on Friday night has become one of the biggest talking points in the tennis world. With the score being at 6-5 in the first-set tie-break, the pair got engaged in an insane 55-shot rally until Ruud won the set with a backhand shot up the line. This became the longest rally in the US Open, according to tournament officials.
US Open 2022: 55-shot rally between Casper Ruud and Karen Khachanov; Watch
‘Just refused to do a mistake’: Casper Ruud
The 55-stroke rally handed much-needed momentum to Ruud as he claimed a 6-2 win in the second round. As reported by ATP Tour, speaking about the rally, the Norwegian said, “It was a very important point in the match. Of course, set point. I had not wasted two because he served well on the two previous set points. I knew this [was] a chance to win the first set. I’m on my serve. I missed a serve by small margins the first serve. Looked like it could be an ace. Second serve we played for the rally. I think we both just refused to do a mistake knowing how important that point is.”
The second-best rally in the tournament came between Daniil Medvedev and Wu Yibing, which saw 36 shots being hit in the third round. With the win, Ruud sealed his spot in the US Open 2022 final, where he will face Carlos Alcaraz. Interestingly, Ruud and Alcaraz will now clash in the summit clash eyeing their first-ever Grand Slam title and World No. 1 title win.
Casper Ruud eyes US Open 2022 & World No. 1 title
Ruud defeated Kachanov by -6 (5), 6-2, 5-7, 6-2, and will fight for his first major title on Sunday. This will be Ruud’s second major final appearance of the year after he lost the championship match at Roland Garros to Rafael Nadal. He currently has a 14-13 record in Grand Slam matches, having missed the Australian Open 2022 due to an ankle injury.
However, he has claimed a 13-2 record in major in 2022 and currently sits 7th in the ATP Rankings. A win against Alcaraz will make him jump six places and replace Daniil Medvedev at the top of the men’s singles ATP rankings. On the other hand, if Alcaraz claims the US Open 2022 title, he will become the youngest man to become World No. 1 since the computerized rankings began in 1973.
