The 2022 US Open final was repeated this Friday: Alcaraz-Ruud. This time in a different scenario and context. With nothing at stake, the Spaniard and the Norwegian faced each other in an exhibition match, a few days before the real fire begins this Sunday in Australia until January 28.
The match against Ruud served the tennis player from El Palmar to get even for the defeat this Wednesday against the Australian De Miñaur, as he defeated the player from Oslo in two sets, 6-4 and 6-2. Also to prepare for the debut next week against the veteran Gasquet, former world number seven, in the first Grand Slam of the year.
Ruud took a 2-4 lead in the first set after breaking down. Later, Alcaraz scored the next eight games, took the first set and faced the intractable second set. The Spaniard was 4-0 ahead in the decisive set and only gave up a couple of games to score the final 6-4 and 6-2 on the scoreboard.
Alcaraz will start his way this Tuesday in the Australian Open against Richard Gasquet, after avoiding the Serbian Novak Djokovic (1) and the Italian Jannik Sinner (4) on his side of the draw. The Spaniard and the French have only seen each other on one occasion in an official match. It was in the final of the Umag tournament in 2021. On that occasion, Alcaraz, at 18 years old, won the first ATP title of his career.
Alcaraz also confessed that he still gets “nervous” when he talks to Nadal, at the end of the exhibition match with Ruud. “I think those nerves will always appear and it is impossible to avoid them. In that photo he was thirteen years old,” explained the Murcian when the tournament organization showed a snapshot of Rafa and the Murcian as a child.
The 14-time Roland Garros winner will not be able to compete in the Oceanic Open in the coming weeks, due to a “microtear” he felt after playing the quarterfinals of the Brisbane tournament against Thompson (7-5, 6-7 and 3-6).
“It is not in the same part where I had the injury and that is good news,” the Spaniard confirmed last week, referring to the ailments in the iliopsoas that kept him off the slopes since January 2023.
