Carlos Alcaraz is the winner of the US Open – ŠPORT.SK

today 06:30 | Spanish tennis player Carlos Alcaraz triumphed in men’s singles at the US Open and won the first Grand Slam title in his career. In the final, he defeated the top five seeded Norwegian Casper Ruud in the tournament’s top three position 6:4, 2:6, 7:6 (1), 6:3. At the age of 19 years and 4 months, he became the youngest world number one in history on Monday. US Open – men’s singles – final: Carlos Alcaraz (Sp.-3) – Casper Ruud (Nor.-5) 6:4, 2:6, 7:6 (1), 6:3 Duel between Alcaraz and Ruud boi straight by fighting for the post of leader of the ATP ranking. The Spaniard followed up his victory over the Norwegian from the final of the Masters 1000 tournament in Miami in March and adjusted the mutual record to 3:0. He takes home a pre-tax bonus of $2.6 million from New York and 2,000 points on the leaderboard. Alcaraz is the second youngest US Open champion after the legendary American Pete Sampras, who won his first trophy when he was 19 years and 28 days old. It was the second unsuccessful Grand Slam final for the 23-year-old Ruud. In June, in the duel for the title at Roland Garros in Paris, he lost in three sets to Alcaraz’s compatriot Rafael Nadal. The Norwegian will be world number two in the new edition of the ranking and will improve his career best. The match for the men’s singles title at this year’s US Open was characterized by great intensity from the start. Ruud faced two break points in the opening game, but he fended them off and in the next game he led 40:15 when Alcaraz served. However, the Spaniard helped himself with two quality first serves, held his serve and broke Ruuda in the third game, which was the decisive moment of the first set. In important moments, Alcaraz demonstrated that he has a great feeling for the ball, he was able to help in difficult exchanges with precise volleys. In the second act, Ruud increased his aggressiveness, winning four games in a row from 2:2 and leveling at 1:1 in sets. Alcaraz quickly shook things off and took a 2-0 lead early in the third period. However, Ruud equalized at 2:2 and at 6:5, he worked out two set points while serving Alcaraz. The Spaniard turned them away and forced a tiebreak, in which he dominated, benefiting from the opponent’s four unforced errors. In the fourth set, Alcaraz served brilliantly, thanks to a break in the sixth game, he jumped Ruud to 4:2 and already brought the match to a successful end. In the ninth game, he converted his second match point in a row on his own serve. At the beginning of the ceremony, Alcaraz paid his respects to the victims of the terrorist attack in New York. “All Americans remember the tragic events of September 11, 2001. I hope that nothing like this will happen again in the future. Today is a special day for me. Since childhood, I dreamed of being a Grand Slam champion and world number one. It’s hard to describe all the emotions. I would like to thank my whole team and my family. It’s a shame that everyone couldn’t be here to watch this match. I’ve always said that there’s no time to be tired. I go to every tournament with the goal of giving maximum, I’m working hard on myself and the Grand Slam title is a beautiful reward for all that hard work. A big thank you to all the Spanish fans who came to New York to cheer me on, this trophy belongs to them too,” said the protégé of Juan Carlos Ferrer, champion Roland Garros from 2003. In the beginning of his speech, Ruud also touched on the events of 21 years ago. “My thoughts go out to those who lost loved ones in the attacks. I think the spectators saw a quality match. We knew what we were playing for, that the winner of the final would be the world number one. I’m disappointed with the loss, but I’m glad that I am number two in the ranking. I will strive to reach the top. I thank my parents, without them I would not be standing here now. They made the maximum sacrifice for me.”