Spanish teenager Carlos Alcaraz won his first Grand Slam title at the US Open on Sunday and became the youngest man to step up to world number one. The 19-year-old pulled his weary body to a 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 (7/1), 6-3 win over Norway’s Casper Ruud in the final. Alcaraz, the first teenager to take the top spot, is the youngest men’s Grand Slam champion since Rafael Nadal at the 2005 French Open after a performance that yielded 55 winners and 14 winners. He is also the youngest champion in New York since Pete Sampras in 1990.
It was a grueling tournament for Alcaraz, who claimed a record for sitting time at a single Grand Slam event, passing 23 hours and 21 minutes to Kevin Anderson’s runner-up finish at Wimbledon. 2018.
The defeat for Ruud, who is also vying for world number one, was his second defeat in a Slam final this year after he was knocked out by Nadal at the French Open.
As the roof was closed, Arthur Ashe Stadium spectators watched in silence for the emotional moment on the 21st anniversary of the September 11 attacks before the final scheduled start.
Both men took break points in their opening games before Alcaraz took the only break of the first set to take a 3-1 lead.
Ruud dropped the set but won in sportsmanship as he produced a brace for himself in the eighth game, giving the Spaniard the point.
Alcaraz served it out of love and a polite lead of his 13 winners to six to the Norwegian.
The Spaniard, who reached the final with a 2-0 win over Ruud, squandered break points 2-2 in the second set.
Ruud cost him, taking a 4-2 lead and then leveling the final on the second set-point after another careless drop from Alcaraz opened the court to the enticing. Norway.
At the time, Alcaraz had been on the field at the tournament for nearly 22 hours, surpassing the mark set by Andy Murray when the Briton claimed the 2012 championship.
He took a 2-0 lead in the third set before Ruud hit back.
The 23-year-old Norwegian had two scoring points in the game 11 minutes into the match but failed to convert when Alcaraz put in an inch-perfect, reverse volley.
Alcaraz made the most of his regret, racing to the tournament’s first tiebreak success when Ruud’s game was abruptly disrupted.
The Spaniard sensed his chance, breaking 4-2 in the fourth set before raising his aces to 12 to lead 5-2.
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Ruud was the favorite but Alcaraz confirmed his piece of history in the second game before collapsing on the pitch to celebrate.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and was automatically generated from the syndication feed.)
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