The 23 year old and 19 year old Casper Ruud and Carlos Alcaraz took center court for a night match on Ashe – a highly anticipated thriller, not only because of their head-to-head coming into the match, not only because both players had all to play for considering their amazing runs in the tournament until that point…but this was the Final many tennis fans had predicted, particularly after the defending champion Daniil Medvedev and 22 time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal were ousted.
The Final surely delivered on the goods, being highly entertaining, both players cleanly striking the ball, varying their shots, matching each other’s intensity, and it looked like the match would go down to the wire to that all-important decisive 5th set, but it was the teenage Spanish sensation who edged his opponent in 4, winning 6-4 2-6 7-6 6-3.
Alcaraz attacked any ball that dropped short off the Ruud racket, his net play was impressive, his serving was solid for the most part; he appears to have a well-rounded game that can be a threat to any other top 10 player on any surface. Casper Ruud on the other hand, Alcaraz’s Norwegian opponent had not been an easy pass. His weight of shot, defensive play and calm demeanor kept him in the match for as long as he was able to compete. They both sustained a high level of quality playing, displaying great skill and incredible IQ for the game. The third and fourth sets were outstanding in their offering of stunning shots for the highlights reel.
Alcaraz was in some instances stubborn with his love of the drop shot; it was a bad decision during a nail-biting point at 4 all for instance to play the dropper. Having taken your opponent to deuce, having a sneak at breaking serve for 5-4 to serve for a 2 sets to 1 lead – it showed there that there are some things that he can improve with age. He missed it of course as he did the others previously in the match he insisted on playing when he didn’t have to.
Of the two, Alcaraz enjoys the big stage more and feeds off the crowd energy during crucial moments of his matches. For Ruud, this was his second Slam Final this season after meeting Rafael Nadal at Roland Garros, and he has many more in him it appeared after last night’s match. It was an absolute pleasure to watch every shot Live, imagining all at once what each player may go on to achieve post this tournament.
