Casper Ruud books US Open final by beating Khachanov

Casper Ruud did not play a perfect match but he did more than enough to secure himself a place in the US Open final 7-6(5) 6-2 5-7 6-2.

It's a significant win for Ruud who overtakes Rafael Nadal in the ATP live rankings coming fairly close to becoming the new world number one. He needs to win the US Open or Alcaraz to lose later to Tiafoe. This match started well for him as he broke Khachanov early but also gave that break back. Some shaky play after thta gave the Russian another break but he was able to battle back before it escalated.

Eventually, we ended up in a tiebreak and Ruud outplayed Khachanov to take it 7-5. The final point in the set featured 57 shots before the rally ended. Ruud kept up the intensity in the second set and easily beat Khachanov 6-2 to take it. It was a superb display from Ruud who had 12 winners and only two errors.

It didn't get much better than that and as Khachanov rose his level, so did Ruud encounter some issues. The only break point he had, midway through the 3rd, was squandered and he never saw another one. At 5-6 Ruud played the worst game he played all day and lost the set 5-7. The Norwegian did not panic though.

He waited for Khachanov to regress and then pounced. One break early and then another one set him up for the final. He would finish it off 6-2 in the final set with 51 winners and only 33 winners. A good ration and a good display worthy of the final.