The Spaniard and the Norwegian are battling to be world number one at the US Open. The Hispanic is betting on being the youngest tennis player (19) to reach the top, leaving behind the record held by Lleyton Hewitt (20).
Winner takes allis the title of a song released by Swedish band ABBA in 1980 as part of their album super soldier. The expression, literally translated as “The winner takes it all”, perfectly applies to what will happen today at the close of the US Open. Carlos Alcaraz (4th) and Casper Ruud (7th) not only aspires to be the winner of the last Grand Slam of the year, but also tops the ATP rankings in this Monday’s update. They arrive at the instance only 100 points apart in the Direct ranking.
Whoever wins will overtake Daniil Medvedev (1st) in the world rankings, after the Russian succumbed in the round of 16 to Nick Kyrgios (25th). In the case of the Spaniard, if he succeeds, he will become the youngest number one in history, at 19 years old. The record so far belongs to Australian Lleyton Hewitt, who broke into the No. 1 position aged 20 on November 11, 2001.
In direct duels, Alcaraz and Ruud only met twice. In both cases, it was the native of El Palmar who won. The last time in the Miami Masters final, on April 3. Triumph by 7-5 and 6-4 for the Spaniards. Before, the faces were seen in the Round of 16 of the 2021 Andalusian Open, where the Murcian prevailed 6-2, 6-4.
The list has been reduced to two. At the start of the US Open, there were five tennis players with the possibility of climbing to the top spot in the standings. The Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas (5th), for example, but he went out in the first round, eliminated by the Colombian Daniel Elahi Galán (94th). Logically, the first option had Medvedev, the current leader, however, he was eliminated in the round of 16.
Same case in which Rafael Nadal (3rd), the other candidate, fell to the American Frances Tiafoe (26th). The historic tennis player has maintained his chances of moving up the rankings, in case Alcaraz and Ruud don’t reach the decisive stage.
“Now I want to go home, I have more important things than tennis to do. With this basic principle, I will make the decisions that I have to make depending on what is happening. The personal now comes before the professional,” said the Hispanic, after coming out eliminated.
Misleading ranking?
The debate is settled. Since the ATP decided to extend point protection for more than a year and a half, due to the pandemic, the rankings have seen surprising variations. This, along with some bans and determinations, has led the circuit to suffer criticism.
Novak Djokovic (6th) is the name that represents the controversy. The Serb, due to his decision not to get vaccinated, could not say he was present at the Australian Open, Indian Wells, Miami, Montreal, Cincinnati and the US Open, automatically losing 3,250 points and finding themselves without the possibility of playing 8,000 units. He participated in Wimbledon, however, the English tournament did not award points this year, due to the veto imposed on Russian and Belarusian athletes.
Swiatek, champion
Iga Swiatek (1st) confirmed that she was at the top of the WTA rankings and beat Tunisian Ons Jabeur (5th), 6-2 and 7 (7)-6. The Pole retained her third Grand Slam, second in 2022. She had already won at Roland Garros. Before, in 2020 the French tournament was also awarded.
On this occasion, 1h50 was enough for the 21-year-old athlete. In the initial manga, he was far superior; in the other, his rival fought as best he could. However, in the definition, he never succumbed.
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Source: Latercera
I’m Todderic Kirkman, a journalist and author for athletistic. I specialize in covering all news related to sports, ranging from basketball to football and everything in between. With over 10 years of experience in the industry, I have become an invaluable asset to my team. My ambition is to bring the most up-to-date information on sports topics around the world.
