Alcaraz defeats Ruud in U.S. Open final for 1st Grand Slam title, No. 1 ranking

Walking out for his first Grand Slam final at age 19, Carlos Alcaraz bumped fists with fans leaning over a railing along the path leading to the Arthur Ashe Stadium court. Moments later, after the coin toss, Alcaraz turned to sprint to the baseline for the warmup, until being beckoned back to the net by the chair umpire for the customary pre-match photos.

Alcaraz is imbued with boundless enthusiasm and energy, not to mention skill, speed, stamina and sangfroid. And now he's a U.S. Open champion and the No. 1 player in men's tennis.

Using his uncommon combination of moxie and maturity, Alcaraz beat Casper Ruud 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 (1), 6-3 on Sunday to both earn the trophy at Flushing Meadows and become the youngest man to lead the ATP rankings.

"Everything came so fast. For me it's unbelievable. It's something I dreamed since I was a kid, since I started playing tennis," said Alcaraz, whom folks of a certain age might still consider a kid.

"Of course," he said, "I'm hungry for more."

WATCH | Alcaraz tops Ruud in U.S. Open men's final:

19-year-old Carlos Alcaraz of Spain wins US Open

2 years ago

Duration 2:40

Spain's Carlos Alcaraz claimed his first career grand slam title defeating Norway's Casper Ruud 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 (1), 6-3 in the Final of the U.S. Open.

Alcaraz, who will move up three ranking spots from No. 4 on Monday, already has attracted plenty of attention as someone considered the Next Big Thing in a sport dominated for decades by the Big Three of Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer.

"He's one of these few rare talents that comes up every now and then in sports. That's what it seems like," said Ruud, a 23-year-old from Norway. "Let's see how his career develops, but it's going all in the right direction."

The Spaniard was serenaded by choruses of "Ole, Ole, Ole! Carlos!" that reverberated off the arena's closed roof — and Alcaraz often motioned for the spectators to get louder. There were a couple of magical points that drew standing ovations, including one Alcaraz lost with a laser of an on-the-run forehand while ending up face-down on his belly.

He only briefly showed signs of fatigue from having to get through three consecutive five-setters in the three rounds right before the final; no one had gone through that arduous a route on the way to the title in New York in 30 years.

"It's not time to be tired," Alcaraz said.

This was not a stroll to the finish. He faced a pair of set points while down 6-5 in the third. Could have been an outcome-altering moment.

But Alcaraz erased each of those point-from-the-set opportunities for Ruud with the sorts of quick-reflex, soft-hand volleys he repeatedly displayed.

"He just played too good on those points. We've seen it many times before: He steps up when he needs to," Ruud said. "When it's close, he pulls out great shots."

One break in the fourth was all it took for Alcaraz to seal the victory in the only Grand Slam final between two players seeking both a first major championship and the top spot in the ATP's computerized rankings, which date to 1973.

The winner was guaranteed to be first in Monday's rankings; the loser was guaranteed to be second.

"We knew what was at stake," said Ruud, who entered the U.S. Open ranked No. 7. "I'm disappointed, of course, that I'm not No. 1, but No. 2 is not too bad, either."

He also was the runner-up to Nadal at the French Open in June.

If nothing else, Ruud gets the sportsmanship award for conceding a point he knew he didn't deserve. It came at 4-3 in the first set, when he raced to a short ball that bounced twice before his racket touched it. Play continued, and Alcaraz hesitated, then flubbed his response. Ruud told the chair umpire what had happened, giving the point to Alcaraz, who responded with a thumbs-up.

Alcaraz certainly seems to be a rare talent, possessing an all-court game, a blend of groundstroke power with a willingness to push forward. He won 34 of the 45 points that he finished at the net.

He is increasingly a threat while serving — he delivered 14 aces at up to 128 mph — and returning, earning 11 break points, converting three.

And, as Ruud noted, Alcaraz showed "incredible fighting spirit and will to win."

Make no mistake: Ruud is no slouch. There's a reason he is the youngest man since Nadal to get to two major finals in one season.

But this was Alcaraz's time to shine under the lights.

Some perspective: He is the first teenager to win the U.S. Open since Pete Sampras in 1990, the first to triumph at any Slam since Nadal at the 2005 French Open.

Decent company.

For context on the rankings, it is helpful to know that Novak Djokovic did not play at the U.S. Open or Australian Open this year, unable to enter those countries because is not vaccinated against COVID-19, and did not receive any ranking boost for his Wimbledon championship because no points were on offer for anyone after the All England Club banned athletes from Russia and Belarus over the invasion of Ukraine.

Regardless of the circumstances, it is significant that Alcaraz is the first male teenager at No. 1.

No one else did it. Not Nadal, not Djokovic, not Federer, not Sampras or anyone else.

When one last service winner glanced off Ruud's frame Sunday, Alcaraz dropped to his back on the court, then rolled over onto his stomach, covering his face with his hands.

He went into the stands for hugs with his coach Juan Carlos Ferrero, a former No. 1 himself who won the French Open in 2003 and reached the final of that year's U.S. Open, and others, crying all the while.

"He was born to play this kind of tournament, born to play these kind of matches," said Ferrero, who has worked with Alcaraz for three years. "Since the moment that I started with him, I saw some things that were different than the other guys at his age."

You only get to No. 1 for the first time once.

You only win a first Grand Slam title once.

Many folks expect Alcaraz to be celebrating these sorts of feats for years to come.

"I want to be [at] the top for many, many weeks — I hope many years," he said. "I'm going to work hard again after this week, these amazing two weeks. I'm going to fight [to] have more of this."

Krejcikova, Siniakova complete career Grand Slam

The only thing that could stop Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova in Grand Slam tournaments this year was COVID-19.

The Czechs won their third major in 2022 and completed a career Grand Slam on Sunday, rallying late to beat Caty McNally and Taylor Townsend 3-6, 7-5, 6-1 in the U.S. Open women's doubles final.

Krejcikova and Siniakova began the year by winning the Australian Open for the first time but couldn't defend their 2021 French Open title after Krejcikova tested positive for COVID-19 and withdrew after losing her opening singles match.

They then won Wimbledon for the second time and now own six major titles.

The Americans were playing together in a major for the first time after Townsend returned this year following the birth of her son in March 2021. They couldn't match the experience of the Czechs, who began playing together as juniors.

It was the second straight loss in the U.S. Open final for McNally, who partnered last year with Coco Gauff.

Siniakova will replace Gauff — who with partner Jessica Pegula lost in the first round at Flushing Meadows as the No. 2 seeds — at the top of the WTA doubles rankings. Krejcikova will climb to No. 2 and McNally will vault from No. 22 back into the top 10.

De Groot captures another wheelchair Grand Slam 

Diede de Groot captured her second straight wheelchair calendar-year Grand Slam, while Alfie Hewett stopped Shingo Kunieda from doing the same by winning the men's title at the U.S. Open.

De Groot, the No. 1 seed from the Netherlands, rallied to beat No. 2 Yui Kamiji 3-6, 6-1, 6-1.

She won the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and U.S. Open wheelchair singles titles for the second straight year. She won a golden slam in 2021, adding the Paralympic gold medal to her victories in the majors.

Kunieda had won the first three Grand Slam titles this year, but the second-seeded Hewett beat the No. 1 seed from Japan 7-6 (2), 6-1.

Tournament raises $2M US for Ukraine

The 2022 U.S. Open raised $2 million US in crisis relief for Ukraine.

The U.S. Tennis Association said the fundraising started with the " Tennis Plays for Peace " exhibition the week before the tournament, featuring players such as women's champion Iga Swiatek and Nadal, and continued with donations from corporate partners, fans and private donors.

The funds were donated to GlobalGiving's Ukraine Crisis Relief Fund, which supports humanitarian assistance in impacted communities in Ukraine and surrounding regions where Ukrainian refugees have fled.