Casper Ruud showed no signs of pressure in dismissing 13th seed Matteo Berrettini in the US Open quarterfinals. The Norwegian will take on Karen Khachanov who got the better of Nick Kyrgios to reach his first major semi-final.
2022 WTA/ATP Tour
Grand Slam Tennis
US Open
USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Centre (Outdoor Hardcourt)
Semi-Finals Preview- 9th September
Casper Rudd (5) (7/4) vs Karen Khachanov (27) (11/8)
I have to swallow my words in regards to Casper Rudd. I- like many others- had dismissed him as a ranking’s vulture, ravaging his way to the top with fringe ATP 250 wins on clay (this year he has won another three ATP 250 events). And he obviously showed his clay-court prowess with that excellent run to the Roland Garros final.
But there were still doubts as to his ability to compete in the other Slams. But he has weathered the criticism and improved in all departments. His first-serve has got progressively harder and his backhand has suddenly become a weapon.
He demonstrated this by reaching his maiden Masters 1000 final in Miami before a semi-final run in Montreal. He has had to show some grit in New York, holding off an inspired Tommy Paul in a tense 3rd round encounter. But he looked commanding against Grand Slam specialist Matteo Berrettini. It’s easy to focus on how awful Berrettini was (the Italian did hit a plethora of errors). But Rudd was smart, constantly peppering Berrettini’s less effective backhand wing.
Due to the crazy nature of this year’s draw, Casper Rudd actually stands a chance of becoming World No.1 this week. What could be more motivating than that?
There are some five-set matches that are pulsating to watch. They absorb you with their intensity and fierce competitiveness. Then you have the Kyrgios-Khachanov quarterfinal.
Do you know what’s more boring than a five-set match between two bombers who rarely exchange rallies? One where one of the players doesn’t seem to care. That’s a gross oversimplification. Kyrgios certainly turned it on in the final stages, chasing lost causes when the cause was lost.
But you are just left with the feeling that the win was there for him if he wanted it badly enough. Perhaps I’m not giving Khachanov enough credit. He remained remarkably solid despite the entire crowd pulling for the Aussie. And that backhand started to sing in the latter stages of the match.
Truly, it was a thing of beauty. And he was fresh off that herculean effort in the 4th round against Carreno Busta.
He is into his first Grand Slam semi-final and will be looking to make it back-to-back Russian winners after Medvedev’s triumph last year.
Verdict: Rudd to win in four at 10/3- Rudd leads the head-to-head 1-0, beating Khachanov on clay in the 2020 Rome Masters.
This should be a slightly better watch for the purists. You can expect plenty of rallies from two players who love to hug the baseline. Having said that, I did admire the way Khachanov started to come to the net against Kyrgios. This could devolve into a battle between Rudd’s forehand and Khachanov’s backhand. But you have to think that Khachanov will be feeling the effects of two consecutive five-set matches.
Rudd was majestic against Berrettini and should have more consistent firepower off both wings.
A Karen Khachanov-Casper Rudd semifinal just doesn’t move the needle.
— Jake Marsh (@PMTsportsbiz) September 7, 2022
We needed more of this man. #USOpen
pic.twitter.com/cn0y30K5ro
Ons Jabeur (5) (5/4) vs Caroline Garcia (17) (61/100)
It almost feels like the women’s draw has been slightly more predictable than the men’s this year (which is a rarity). And Jabeur is one of the leading ladies who has played beautifully this fortnight.
She seems to make history with every event she plays: she has now become the first Arab or African woman to reach a US Open semi-final in the Open Era. Her quarterfinal victory over the unseeded Ajla Tomljanovic took her tally of victories for the year to 43 (only Iga Swiatek is ahead of her). It wasn’t a vintage display by the Tunisian.
She battled with her first-serve throughout the match. But she seemed to find the clutch serve when it was most needed. She also never brought out too many of her trademark drop-shots. She mixed things up with a penetrative slicked backhand that forced the Aussie to create the pace.
A beaten finalist at Wimbledon earlier this year, Jabeur is fast becoming a premier Grand Slam contender on all surfaces.
I have really enjoyed being proven wrong this year. Despite her recent Cincinnati title, I never seriously thought of Caroline Garcia as a realistic US Open contender.
Even in her pomp, the former World No.4 had only reached one previous Grand Slam quarterfinal (the 2017 French Open). But this fortnight we have seen the version of Caroline Garcia that Andy Murray once said could become the World No.1.
Her demolition of crowd darling Coco Gauff was nothing less than astonishing. You have to remember that maybe twenty people in the stadium were applauding her when she hit a winner. But she came up trumps time after time, dominating with her forehand and wonderful net play.
She won the first-set despite hitting less than 50% of her first-serves. But every time she desperately needed a big serve, she would conjure one.
She stood so far inside the baseline on Gauff’s 2nd serve that it occasionally looked like she was playing doubles. She has now won 18 of her last 19 matches and she is yet to drop a set this week.
Verdict: Garcia to win in straight sets at 27/20- Jabeur leads the head-to-head 2-0. And both of those victories came at Grand Slam tournaments (the 2019 US Open and 2020 Aussie Open).
I think it has to be said that Coco looked way off the pace against Garcia. She missed a large amount of fairly standard passing shots. It’s reminded me a lot of how she capitulated in the French Open final. Still, Garcia is looking like the most formidable player in the draw.
I just think Garcia’s confidence is going to be overflowing after that win against Gauff. Imagine if she actually gets that first-serve percentage closer to 70.
The consistency of that huge serve down the line (plus the forehand) should give her the edge over the Tunisian.
Ons Jabeur just became the first woman representing an African nation to make the US Open semifinals in the Open Era (since 1968) 🇹🇳 #USOpen pic.twitter.com/nyfYiAu6VU
— ESPN (@espn) September 6, 2022
