Ruud, Alcaraz down Cerundolo, Hurkacz to advance to men's final at Miami Open
The Associated Press | Posted: April 2, 2022 2:03 AM | Last Updated: April 2, 2022
Alcaraz, a month away from turning 19, is 2nd-youngest finalist ever in tournament
No. 6 seed Casper Ruud earned the first spot in the Miami Open title match by defeating Francisco Cerundolo 6-4, 6-1 in Friday's semifinals.
"It was a tough match, even though the scoreline said two straight sets," said Ruud, who will be playing in a Masters 1000-level final for the first time. "It was tough."
Ruud won 84 percent of his first-serve points in his comfortable win over Cerundolo, who is ranked 103rd in the world.
"It was not where I imagine myself playing my first Masters 1000 final [on a hard court], but I will take it," said Ruud.
"It is a great feeling. I am standing here smiling. I have had three tough losses in my previous Masters [1000] semifinals, and I thought today was a good chance to reach my first final. I started a little shaky, but I was able to pull through and raise my level when I really needed to."
Ruud will face No. 14 Carlos Alcaraz in the men's title match on Sunday. Alcaraz defeated No. 8 seed Hubert Hurkacz — the defending Miami champion — 7-6 (5), 7-6 (2) on Friday night in the last semifinal.
Alcaraz, who is a month away from turning 19, is the second-youngest Miami Open finalist ever.
Rafael Nadal was about a month younger than Alcaraz is now when he made the Miami final; the tournament was called the NASDAQ-100 Open then and was played at Key Biscayne. Nadal lost a five-setter in the final that year to Roger Federer.
"I have a lot of emotions right now," Alcaraz said postmatch. "It's something that you dream of when you are a child.
"It's really good to be in the final here in Miami. I love playing here. The crowd is amazing. I'm going to approach the final like a first round, trying to mask the nerves. I'm going to enjoy it, it's going to be a great final."
Alcaraz prevailed in a match that featured no service breaks, with each player saving three break points.
Hurkacz, who had a 13-3 edge in aces, led 5-3 in the first-set tiebreaker before losing the final four points. Alcaraz jumped in front 4-1 in the second-set tiebreaker and wasn't threatened again.