I can see No. 1 in the world, but it’s so far away: Carlos Alcaraz raring to give his all in US Open final

Spanish teenager Carlos Alcaraz continued his red-hot form in the US Open 2022 on Saturday as he defeated local favourite Frances Tiafoe in the men’s singles semi-final to reach his maiden Grand Slam final. Alcaraz was relentless in the semi-final as he fought till the end to come out on top against Tiafoe in a hard-fought contest.

Despite a brilliant fight from the American, Alcaraz got the better of him despite getting off to a nervy start in the semi-final. The Spaniard double faulted twice in the first set to go down 1-0 before fighting back to clinched the second set 6-3.

Alcaraz took the third set comfortably 6-1 before the American staged a comeback to clinch the fourth set and force the semi-final into a decider. However, Alcaraz displyed incredible grit and determination to punish Tiafoe again in the final set to bag the semi-final 6-7 (6-8), 6-3, 6-1, 6-7 (5-7), 6-3 and set up a title-clash with Casper Rudd.

“To be honest, in the semi-final of a Grand Slam you have to give everything… we have to fight until the last ball. It doesn’t matter if we are fighting for five hours, six hours. It doesn’t matter. You have to give everything on court,” Alcaraz said after his victory. “Frances gave everything on court. This is amazing,” he added.

Also Read: Relentless Carlos Alcaraz ends local favourite Frances Tiafoe’s dream run to reach US Open 2022 final

Alcaraz became the youngest male player to reach a Grand Slam final at the age of 19 and now has the world no.1 ranking in his sight ahead of the US Open 2022 final against Rudd. The young Spaniard said it feels amazing to be fighting for big things so early in his career but admitted he still has a lot of work to do to become world no.1.

“It’s amazing to be able to fight for big things. First time in the final of a Grand Slam. I can see the No. 1 in the world, but at the same time it’s so far away,” said the 19-year-old star.

“I have one more to go against a player who is unbelievable. He deserves to play a final. He played the final of a Grand Slam in Roland Garros. This is my first time. I’m going to give everything that I have. I will have to handle the nerves of being in a final of a Grand Slam, but obviously I’m really, really happy and as I said before every match, I’m going to enjoy. I’m going to enjoy the moment and let’s see what happens,” he added.

Also Read: Casper Ruud reaches US Open final with confident win over Karen Khachanov

The winner of the US Open 2022 final between Rudd and Alcaraz will become the new world no.1. If Alcaraz manages to beat Rudd, he will become the youngest world no.1 in the history of the ATP rankings while Rudd will become the first Norwegian to top the rankings if he outclassed the Spaniard.