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There’s more than a US Open title on the line Sunday in New York: The man who wins the final will also become the world’s No. 1 player.
Will it be Carlos Alcaraz, the 19-year-old phenom who will look to join Pete Sampras as the only teenage males to win the US Open since 1968? Or will it be Casper Ruud, who made it all to the way to the French Open final earlier this year before losing to Rafael Nadal? Our experts weigh in.
What can Alcaraz do to defeat Ruud?
Cliff Drysdale: Alcaraz needs to wait for the right moment to use his knockout punch and not be too eager to finish the point too soon.
Luke Jensen: Ice bath! Recovery will be mission critical to have the body able to flush out the lactic acid from the sore muscles after three long five-set matches. If the kid can move, he can win.
Alexandra Stevenson: It’s all about how Alcaraz recovers from multiple five-set matches. If he’s fully recovered, he beats Rudd, who is consistently solid. The mental game will matter to Alcaraz. Easy mistakes happen on court when your body is tired. Body and mind — that will be the two components for Alcaraz to win.
Tom Hamilton: He shouldn’t change a thing. Whatever he’s done here at the US Open has worked. Despite reaching the final off the back of three straight five-set matches, each lasting late into the night, Alcaraz’s body is showing no signs of fatigue. So stick at it.
But if he’s to learn from his previous Grand Slam exits this year, he needs to start well against Ruud. Back in Roland Garros, he started slowly against Alexander Zverev and was made to pay the price. The same happened against Jannik Sinner at Wimbledon. He went two sets down and just couldn’t haul himself back in — later saying nerves also affected his game.
So starting well is absolutely essential. He fell a set down in the semifinal with Tiafoe — he can’t let that happen again.
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Source : espn
