Carlos Alcaraz Defeats Casper Ruud to Win 2022 US Open; 1st Career Grand Slam Title

Carlos Alcaraz made history on Sunday with his 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 (1), 6-3 win over Casper Ruud in the 2022 U.S. Open men’s final at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Alcaraz, who won his first career Grand Slam title, is now set to become the youngest No. 1 player in the history of the ATP rankings at 19 years and four months.

The young phenom celebrated with his family and loved ones after the win:

The fireworks began right away, with both youngsters opening with a ton of energy that made for some exciting play that wowed the audience in attendance. Alcaraz broke Ruud on his second service game to pull away. He closed out the set in style by holding Ruud to love on the final point.

But Ruud came alive in the second set and showed he would not go away quietly. With the set tied at 2-2, the 23-year-old rattled off four straight points. He controlled the net with some impressive drop shots that Alcaraz was unable to catch up to, and the 19-year-old looked like he started to get frustrated.

Alcaraz quickly regained his composure, opening the third set with a break point. He then went up 2-0 and had the chance at a double break, but Ruud held serve and then took a break point of his own to tie things up at 2-2.

Both players held serve from there without much resistance. Ruud had to fight hard for his fifth point after falling behind 30-0. He managed to escape trouble with an impressive rally to take a 5-4 lead, but Alcaraz held serve to tie things up once again.

Ruud easily took a 6-5 advantage, holding Alcaraz to love during the point. But with the chance to force a tiebreaker, Alcaraz put forth an outstanding effort to extend the set. The crowd was treated to some incredible tennis as both players traded the advantage back and forth before Alcaraz was able to put it away.

During the tiebreaker, Ruud unravelled and lost serve three times as Alcaraz won 7-1 to close out the third set.

The fourth set saw both players holding serve through the first five points with Alcaraz holding a 3-2 lead. He managed to take control with a break point, and then held serve once again to push Ruud to the brink of defeat. Ruud managed to hold serve and stay alive, but Alcaraz calmly did the same to win the set 6-3 and close out the match.

Alcaraz is now the youngest U.S. Open champion since Pete Sampras in 1990. He’s the third champion from Spain, joining Rafael Nadal and Manuel Orantes.

Now that he’s set to become the new world No. 1 on Monday morning, tennis has officially entered the Alcaraz era. Sunday’s Grand Slam victory could be the first of many for the 19-year-old prodigy.