(Kasper Rudd Karen Khatsganov 7-6, 6-2, 5-7, 6-2) Kasper Rudd (23) is ready for his second career in the Grand Slam Finals after defeating Karen Khatsganov (26) in the US semi-finals. to open. Tonight he can also become a world champion.
The final match will be held on Sunday evening. The competitors in the final will be either Carlos Alcaraz or Francis Tiafoe. They meet tonight.
In the quarter-finals, Rudd needed only three sets to win. In the semi-finals he had to go through four sets and three hours.
He played the French Open final in June – but then lost in three straight sets to Rafael Nadal. That tournament was held on clay, this time called New York Hard Court.
– This is hard to describe. After the Roland Garros final I had a very good feeling, but at the same time I thought it might not happen again. Here I am again after a few months. It’s a bit surreal, Rudd says in an interview with Mats Wellander on Discovery+.
He is now closer to becoming the world champion. Only three Scandinavian men managed it before: Bjorn Borg, Mats Wellander and Stefan Edberg. If Carlos Alcaraz does not win the semi-finals tonight, it is already clear that Rudd will be number one. Prior to the second semi-final round, she topped the live standings.
– Maybe it was a big fight from me. It was a little nerve-wracking. Remember, this was probably the biggest match of our careers for both of us, says Rudd in an interview on the scene.
When the interviewer claimed the nerves weren’t visible, Rod replied:
– I take a few deep breaths and I think it’s not that important. It’s not the end of the world…
In the stands, father Christian, mother Lily, Sister Caroline and girlfriend Maria rejoiced with the rest of the Rod team.
Among all the celebrities who followed Rudd’s path to the final from the stands were Jon Bon Jovi, Alec Baldwin and NHL legend Henrik Lundqvist.
– I was completely shaken. Casper excels in the big matches, says Dorthea Faa Hviding at Discovery+ studio.
It was a dream start for Rudd, who broke the Russian’s first service game. But the Russians fought, and the players followed each other 3-3. Then Khatyanov broke again and led 4-3 – before the Norwegian got back to 4-4. He served to lead 5-4, but finished 6-6 in a group that players broke each other twice.
Rudd won the tiebreak after a crazy exchange of balls in the last set of balls. There were 55 hits on the ball – the longest duel in the tournament.
– That’s very important mentally, because this match is going to be even, says Dorthea Faa Hviding at Discovery + studio.
In the second set, Rudd actually broke at 1–1 and again at 3-1, so that he led 4-1.
– Casper is running the show now, according to Discovery + commentator Sven Espen L. Olsen.
The Norwegian won the second set 6-2. The Russian looked tired.
But Khatyanov played well in the third set and kept serving. At 6-5 against the Russian, he managed to break for the first time in the set – and it was enough for Rudd to lose the third set.
The fourth set started with Casper Rudd breaking 1-1. The Norwegian broke again at 3-1 and eventually won the set 6-2.
In the quarter-finals, Rudd impressed by winning three straight sets over Italian Matteo Berrettini. Norway’s Ruud played first of the four in the semi-finals and thus had an extra rest before meeting Khatsganov, who surprisingly beat Nick Kyrgios 3-2 in sets after three hours and 39 minutes on Wednesday night, Norwegian time.
Rudd and Khatinov met only once before – in Rome in 2020. At that time the Norwegian won 2-1 in groups at the ATP 1000 tournament.
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