The rapid rise of Carlos Alcaraz has been described as ‘incredible’ by Norway’s Casper Ruud after he was denied his maiden Grand Slam title by the teenager at the US Open.
Ruud, who is four years older than the Spanish 19-year-old, was edged out in four sets at the New York major where he became the first male player from his country to reach the final. Despite battling on court for more than three hours, Ruud was unable to find a way to tame his rival who had played three consecutive five-set matches heading into their clash.
The triumph has elevated Alcaraz to the world No.1 position, making him the first teenager to do so in the history of the ATP rankings. He is also the youngest man to win a major title since his idol Rafael Nadal did so at the 2005 French Open.
“It’s incredibly impressive what he has achieved already as a teenager. It’s sometimes hard to believe he’s only a teenager,” Ruud said of the rising star.
“He’s more than four years younger than me. It’s incredible. He’s one of these few rare talents that comes up every now and then in sports. That’s what it seems like. Let’s see how his career develops, but it’s going all in the right direction.”
Starting the year outside the top 30, Alcaraz’s rise to the top has seen him claim two ATP 500 titles and two Masters 1000 trophies prior to winning his biggest title in New York. On the European clay, he achieved the rare milestone of getting consecutive wins over Nadal and Novak Djokovic. Against top 10 opposition, he has a win-loss record of 9-4 this season.
“He has shown incredible fighting spirit and will to win. He was down a match point a couple of matches ago (at the US Open) and was able to turn around and end up winning the tournament,” Ruud commented.
“He’s riding that wave. At the moment he’s the best player in the world in my eyes. He deserves that spot. I’m happy that we played each other in the final and that we played for the title and the world No. 1 spot.” He added.
So what is it that makes the youngster stand out in the men’s game? Ruud points out that one special aspect of his game is his speed as he draws parallels between Alcaraz and two greats of the game.
“He’s very fast. He’s very quick. He’s a great mover. He can get to balls that we’ve probably never seen before,” he analyzed.
“Rafa, when he was Carlos’ age, he was also similar. He tracked down everything. Almost no one could hit a winner on him. Novak (Djokovic) is the same with his flexibility. He gets to certain shots that you think, How is that even possible? Carlos has sort of a mixture of both. He’s fast and flexible. He can slide around. It’s impressive.”
Whilst currently in Alcaraz’s shadow, Ruud has risen to a ranking high of No.2 in what is yet another milestone for Norwegian tennis. He has now reached the final of two out of the last three Grand Slam tournaments after also finishing runner-up at the French Open.
There is also a psychological boost from his run at the US Open on a surface which is not his favourite.
“I’m proud of the match and the two weeks. I gave it all. I left it all out on the court. Played some phenomenal tennis throughout the two weeks, probably my best tennis ever on this surface. So I’m very happy in the end,” Ruud concluded.