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Carlos Alcaraz of Spain ended Frances Tiafoe’s dream run at the US Open on Friday (September 9) with a 6-7(6) 6-3 6-1 6-7(5) 6-3 win to advance to his first major final, where he will face Casper Ruud for the world number one ranking.
“It has been a very, very demanding game. Without a doubt, it was mentally one of the best games I have ever played in my career. There were many difficult moments. Losing the fourth (set) with that shot could have done great damage but I managed to stay put,” said the 19-year-old.
Despite having played until the early hours of the morning in his previous two five-set matches, the 19-year-old showed no signs of fatigue on Friday, racing around the court to win the hard-fought battle.
“I dreamt of playing a Grand Slam final since I was a little child and I had the opportunity of reaching the final. I had to recover, I couldn’t allow the match to keep that way, be low on morale and let Tiafoe lead the score, I had to stay put,” he said.
“I knew that I was playing well, I felt quite good on the court and physically. I had many opportunities in the fourth (set) so I had to kept going until I found the chance and that in the fifth (set),” he added.
Alcaraz, seeded third, will look to win his first of many Grand Slam titles when he faces French Open finalist Ruud, who defeated Karen Khachanov in four sets earlier on Friday.
No. 1 is in @carlosalcaraz's sights… pic.twitter.com/35acVbSDud
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 10, 2022
“I try to not give importance to social networks, what they say about me, about what can I achieve. I stay calm, with my people, strolling to clear up my mind. I will think about the final tomorrow,” he signed off.
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