Alcaraz, Ruud meet for US Open title and No. 1 in rankings

Seattle Sports

NEW YORK (AP) — LOOKAHEAD TO SUNDAY

Carlos Alcaraz or Casper Ruud will win his first major title, then move to No. 1 in the ATP rankings on Monday. If it’s the 19-year-old Alcaraz, he would become the youngest Grand Slam champion since fellow Spaniard Rafael Nadal was also 19 when he won the French Open in 2005, and the youngest No. 1 since the computer rankings began in 1973. He has won three straight five-set matches, but the last man to do that leading into a Grand Slam final then lost, when Roger Federer beat Andre Agassi in 2005 at Flushing Meadows. Ruud gets his second chance at a first major title, having lost to Nadal in June at the French Open. He will become the first Norwegian player to be No. 1 with a victory, but he is 0-5 against top-10 players in Grand Slam matches.

SUNDAY’S FORECAST

Afternoon rain. High of 77 degrees Fahrenheit (25 Celsius).

SATURDAY’S RESULT

Women’s final: No. 1 Iga Swiatek beat No. 5 Ons Jabeur 6-2, 7-6 (5).

STAT OF THE DAY

20 — Consecutive sets won by Swiatek in finals after she lost in 2019 in the first one of her career.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“I was joking when I said I don’t like her. I’ll forgive her when she gives me a Rolex or something.” — Ons Jabeur, who had joked in her postmatch interview that she didn’t like Swiatek at the moment.

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More AP coverage of U.S. Open tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/us-open-tennis-championships and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports