His previous match against Marin Cilic - another five-set duel - also concluded after 2 a.m., and the late-night finishes will almost certainly revive the debate about the wisdom of putting athletes of any age in this position. He loves this court.”ĭespite Alcaraz’s youth, this is becoming a habit. He’s playing unbelievable right now: high confidence. He has beaten Rafa Nadal Rublev in three sets. “It’s going to be really, really tough,” Alcaraz said at a news conference that finished shortly before 4 a.m. The digital clock on the court showed that it was just about 3 a.m., but it wasn’t too early to look ahead to his next match. Open, behind only the 1992 semifinal between Stefan Edberg and Michael Chang, won by Edberg in 5 hours and 26 minutes.īut Alcaraz, who fell onto his back and dropped to the court after closing out the match with a service winner, looked anything but pessimistic as he tapped his chest and thanked the few thousand fans who stayed until the finish. The match was the second longest ever played at the U.S. His three-set match with Andrey Rublev was played in the day session, which allowed Tiafoe to settle in for the evening at his hotel as Alcaraz and Sinner pushed each other historically deep into the night. He will also have the advantage of extra rest. Tiafoe will surely have the majority of the support in Arthur Ashe Stadium, with its capacity of nearly 24,000. And the shots before that were also unreal.But neither Federer nor Djokovic played this year in New York, and Nadal, short on matches and perhaps even a little short on inspiration after a taxing season, was upset in the fourth round by Tiafoe, a flashy 24-year-old who is the first American man since Andy Roddick in 2006 to advance this far at his home Grand Slam event. (Was that Lin-Manuel Miranda I just saw a few seats from Lindsey Vonn?)
Deuce.Īlcaraz dials up the power and approaches the net, inducing a wide shot from Ruud. Then a stunner of a cross-court forehand return winner from Ruud, hit from maybe five feet wide of the court. He takes the next point as well, but with each player deep in their forehand corners, Ruud manages to turn his body and hit a winner the other way. Set point.Īnother good return, but Alcaraz pummels it, approaches the net, and volleys to win it. Could Ruud pick up this set here?Ī solid Ruud return, then a forehand winner that somehow catches a bit of the line.
Alcaraz takes the next, but he errs on the next for 30-30. Third set: Alcaraz 6-6 Ruud (going to tiebreaker)
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