King Carlos of New York! Spain’s 19-year-old sensation Alcaraz beats Casper Ruud in four sets to win the US Open singles title and become the youngest man EVER to top the world rankings
- Carlos Alcaraz is now the youngest world No. 1 ever after beating Casper Ruud
- The teenager almost ceded a second set but clawed his way back into the match
- It’s the first Grand Slam win for Alcaraz, who made the Open QF last year
Carlos Alcaraz went from Spanish prince to King of world tennis tonight winning the US Open and topping the rankings in one fell swoop.
The 19 year-old from Murcia is the youngest world number one in history, after beating Norway’s Casper Ruud 6-4 2-6 7-6 6-3 in three hours and 20 minutes.
Fleet of foot and thunderous of thighs, Alcaraz has gone all the way from number 32 at the start of the year to the pinnacle of the standings.
Alcaraz fell to the floor after winning the decisive point of the match – and the tournament
The 19-year-old wavered slightly in the second set but ultimately proved too strong
It’s Alcaraz’s first Grand Slam, and many more could be on the way if he keeps it up
Alcaraz celebrated with his coach Juan Carlos Ferrero after winning the tournament
Carlos Alcaraz hoists the trophy at Arthur Ashe stadium after winning the US Open
He emulates his coach, Juan Carlos Ferrero, and also Pete Sampras, who won the Open at the same age. Unlike Ferrero, he looks set to occupy the position for far more than eight weeks.
A match full of wonderful all-court rallies pivoted on the tiebreak, when Ruud seemed to flinch with the match at his mercy. A flurry of misses gifted it to Alcaraz, who had started to look physically flat and tired after his previous exertions in the tournament.
There was the odd flap as he served it out, but he closed the match with an unstoppable service winner.
Casper Ruud put up a valiant effort but ultimately could not contain his talented opponent
The Norwegian is now No. 2 in the world after reaching finals in New York and France this year
Casper Ruud holds his runners’ up trophy after falling to Alcaraz in four sets
It had not taken long for Ruud to find out that he was very much second favourite among the crowd.
Steady drizzle all day had meant the roof would be closed, and the first impact of that was to trap in the roar that went up when the young Spaniard walked on court.
Not that the Arthur Ashe Stadium was hostile to the polite Norwegian, but clearly there was a desire to see history carved out by the teenager.
Both players were nervous and inclined to make mistakes in the opening stages, with break points created on both sides. It was also obvious that this match was going to feature some sensational retrieving from two of the quickest athletes on the tour.
Alcaraz broke for 2-1 when his deep return forced the Scandanavian to shunt a backhand into the tramlines.
The two exchanged a hug after the hard-fought, three hour and two minute match
Alcaraz is the youngest world No. 1 in tennis history, and he won’t turn 20 until May
If the Spaniard has a weakness it is that he is still inclined to get tight and hand back leads, but amid some brilliant scurrying he held onto the advantage to claim the first set.
When he did so it was, incredibly, the 65th consecutive match on tour in which he had won at least one set in a match.
The Spaniard lost some consistency in the second and at 2-3 was broken when Ruud scampered in to hit a brilliant backhand lob. He looked in some trouble when broken again to lose the set, with Norwegian’s serve – one of the more underrated shots on the ATP Tour – keeping him steady.
Then came another abrupt change, with a series of backhand errors from Ruud allowing Alcaraz to stem the flow with a break of serve at the start of the third.
Had the teenager taken another opportunity in the third game the set would surely have been his. Instead he allowed his opponent to level when he dumped a backhand in the net, with some of his play suggesting the previous five-setters were finally catching up with him.
This told in dropshots that were unusually lacking in their deft touch, and his feet being less electric than often seen.
Ruud had two set points at 6-5 against serve, one of which was saved with a brilliant stretch volley. The crowd roared its approval at quickfire net exchanges, but the tiebreak was all about the suddenly poor groundstroking from the Norwegian.
Knowing that the match was there for the taking, he blinked. Twice he shanked on the backhand from 1-0 up and a glut of errors saw him present it to a weary but determined opponent, who claimed the next seven points.
Ruud said that he was happy with his No. 2 ranking but would continue to chase the No. 1 spot
The pair show off their silverware after the conclusion of the Open final
That put a spring back in the Spaniard’s step, who forced a critical break at 3-2 when Ruud missed an overhead and then sent a backhand long.
Alcaraz becomes the youngest Grand Slam champion since Rafael Nadal in 2005. Ruud is runner-up for a second time after the French Open, but rises to world number two:
‘Things have been going so well, today was a special evening, we knew what we were playing for. It’s fitting that the two finalists will be number one and two. I’m disappointed I’m not number one but number two isn’t too bad either.’
After acknowledging the importance of 9/11, like Ruud, an emotional Alcaraz said: ‘It’s something I dreamt of since I was a kid. I worked really hard for it, there are a lot of emotions right now, it’s very special for me.
My Mum and my grandfather are not here, I was thinking about them, a lot of my family couldn’t come here. I am a little bit tired, I always say it’s not time to be tired, you have to give everything on court, it’s something I work very hard on.’
To see how the match unfolded, read the live blog below from Sportsmail’s Jake Nisse.
Host commentator
That’s all for our coverage of a fantastic Open final, where the teenager played with composure beyond his years. Thanks for following along!
The 19-year-old fires a serve that Ruud can barely get his racket on to win 6-4. 2-6. 7-6, 6-3. What a performance from the youngster, who’s now No. 1 in the world!
Ruud does what he needs to do and easily wins that service game. Now for the hard part…
Another pair of aces has Alcaraz closing in on the championship! He’s consistently finding answers to tough questions, and trailed Ruud 0-30 in that game.
A game of some great rallies, and ultimately ones that Alcaraz came out on top of. A brilliant backhand winner to make it 30-15 was a highlight.
Alcaraz is apparently full of energy more than three hours into this one, as he hit three consecutive aces to take control of that game and ultimately win it. His serve appeared to be flagging in the last set but he showed some renewed verve in that one.
No one is budging four games into this fourth set – yet.
The teenager ends the game with an ace, and he looks to have a second wind after escaping a tiebreak. His forehand looked crisp in that game too.
The Norwegian takes care of business after losing the first game of the set. Both players have shown an admirable amount of poise for their first Open final.
A tough game but one that the Spaniard ultimately won with a deep forehand return at 40-30 to catch Ruud off guard. He looks to be playing confidently once again.
A dominant showing from Alcaraz in the tiebreak, winning 7-1, to regain control of the match.
The Spaniard gains a two-point lead after a wild return from Ruud.
Alcaraz holds his nerve in the deuce to force a set deciding tiebreak, slamming home the final point after an electrifying rally.
Neither player is budging here, with Alcaraz winning a net point after a brilliant cross court winner from Ruud.
Alcaraz survives a set break point with a beautifully taken shot at the net.
A comfortable hold for Ruud, who blanked Alcaraz and sent the Spaniard sliding all over the court. After each player broke the other earlier in the set, there hasn’t been a break since 2-2.
The Spaniard is not going away here, and he wins that service game after an unforced error from Ruud.
A bit of a crazy game ends with an un-crazy result, as Ruud holds to bring himself a break away from taking the second set. Alcaraz may be the more exciting player of the two, but the Norwegian continues to limit his mistakes where possible as the younger Alcaraz has lost control of the match.
Alcaraz has a chance to break here in what looks like a crucial game.
The Spaniard found himself down 15-30 but was able to rattle off three straight points. His celebratory yells and fist pumps after he won those points was maybe the most emotion he’s shown all game, and he knew he had to have that game.
Ruud concedes just one point in that one, and the Spaniard may well regret not breaking him in the third game of this set when he had the chance.
A dominant response from the Spaniard, who only lost one point in that one. His forehand is still looking powerful two hours in the match, and Ruud was standing way behind the baseline in anticipation of his serve.
The Norwegian hit a gorgeous winner that clipped the line to make it 40-15 before Alcaraz hit a shot long the next point. The Spaniard is now spiraling a bit and has 27 unforced errors.
Drop shot for the break from @carlosalcaraz! pic.twitter.com/xiQMqzeLWi
The Norwegian breaks the Spaniard, who not that long again looked like he would go up 3-0 a couple of games ago. It’s the Norwegian that’s in control at the moment, with Alcaraz cutting a frustrated figure.
Ruud escapes with a hold after facing a break point and going to deuce. It was a game of extremes for Alcaraz, who committed two unforced errors but also hit a beautiful lob that drew the applause of his opponent.
Ruud forces deuce with a forehand winner after facing break point.
This one has started the way of the first set, as Alcaraz has jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead. He ended the game with his sixth ace of the match. Ruud has yet to notch one.
The Spaniard starts the third set off strong with an outrageous forehand slice drop shot to take the game. Alcaraz faced a deuce after having a triple break point but he prevented Ruud from winning his fifth straight game.
Alcaraz is broken for the second time in the set, and Ruud knots the match up. The Spaniard struggled heavily with his first serve in that game, with two double faults too. Maybe all of those five-setters are catching up with him…
Alcaraz is taken to deuce by Ruud with a chance for the latter to win the set here.
Casper Ruud gets a second-set break in impressive fashion!#USOpen pic.twitter.com/EPEFPPp205
Another hold from Ruud, who ends the deuce with a stunning slam from the baseline. He’ll have at least one chance to serve for the set.
Ruud forces a deuce after facing break point with a big serve.
The first break of the night for Ruud, and it’s a massive one. He’s in touching distance of tying up the match now.
Ruud gets back into this one after falling behind 30-0, and he’s making his opponent run with drop shots. Huge break chance here.
Ruud faced a break point in the deuce but held firm with a great serve at advantage Alcaraz to tie the game back up. Even when he loses, though, Alcaraz is making Ruud work hard.
Alcaraz forces a deuce after falling behind in the game. A fantastic crosscourt backhand winner helped him get there.
Another net point for Alcaraz that game, who is 13 of 15 there in the match. Back to Ruud for him to serve…
Alcaraz wins the second game of the set with an ace, and not even a particularly fast one. Ruud will be facing an uphill battle to break him all night.
A good start to the second set for Ruud.
A professional performance in the first set gives Alcaraz a one-set lead in under 50 minutes. He’s gotten his serve up in the 120s, and will continue to keep Ruud on his heels if he stays accurate.
Ruud takes his fourth game, but Alcaraz now has a chance to serve for the first set. He’s been pretty, pretty good thus far.
Alcaraz takes another game, and the numbers don’t lie thus far. He’s got 12 winners to Ruud’s five, and three aces to his opponent’s zero.
The Norwegian takes care of business with his own service game, even trying a standing one-leg tweener shot when Alcaraz hit the ball and it bounced awkwardly in front of him. The shot didn’t come off, but it didn’t matter much.
The Spaniard has been aggressive to start this match, winning five net points already. Two of them were in that game, where he went at Ruud relentlessly.
Ruud takes that game without ceding a point. The Norwegian’s serve looked effective in that one.
Yet another game with a break opportunity but Alcaraz survives. Both players asking a lot of each other defensively.
He’s already forced four break points. Now for the fourth game…
A dominant game from Alcaraz, highlighted by a 14-shot rally eventually won by the teenager. The youngster looks poised.
Both players have faced break points so far before eventually pulling away. Alcaraz ties the set up after a couple brilliant backhands from Ruud put him in position to take the second game.
Ruud fails to capitalize on two break points.
Ruud takes the first game of the match after two break points for Alcaraz. The Spaniard’s tremendous defense was on display in that game despite the loss.
Going to a deuce here after Ruud went up 30-0 but failed to put away the game, hitting long twice.
Alcaraz. Ruud.
Time to crown a champion. pic.twitter.com/1UPr4C83LH
We’re minutes away from Alcaraz vs. Ruud, and the entire ESPN panel predicted the young Spaniard to win. Former American player James Blake even predicted him to win in straight sets.
Just one more match left to win now…
It's been a thrilling road to the final for Carlos Alcaraz! pic.twitter.com/vzNLQJoSEX
Here’s Sportsmail’s Mick Dickson on Carlos Alcaraz after he beat Frances Tiafoe in the semifinals
It’s a cloudy afternoon in New York and the men’s final of the US Open is roughly 30 minutes from beginning! Spanish phenom Carlos Alcaraz will look to continue his high-wire act after five-set wins vs. Marin Cilic, Jannik Sinner and Frances Tiafoe. On the other side, Norwegian Casper Ruud enters the final after more comfortable wins vs. Matteo Berrettini and Karen Khachanov. The winner of the match will not only take the US Open – they’ll become the No. 1 ranked player in the world. It should be a great match between two of the brightest young talents in the sport.
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