Casper Ruud moved past French Corentin Moutet 6-1, 6-2, 6-7(4), 6-2 to set up quarter-finals clash against Matteo Berrettini in the US Open 2022 for the first time.
Ruud fended off three break points in the fourth set, while he hit his groundstrokes with more depth and spin to eventually advance after three hours and 22 minutes.
“I had a great start and the [two] sets that I won were not showing the real result. It was much tougher,” Ruud said in his on-court interview. “Corentin is a very tricky player. He has all the shots, runs well. He can produce trick shots and everything. I really needed to stay focused and stay sharp and I was playing really well until I got broke back in the third, which was frustrating.
“He raised his level a bit. But [the] fourth set I was able to break him a couple of times and serve good enough luckily. I didn’t change much but I was able to dictate the game more.”
On the other hand, Berrettini defeated Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the five-set thriller to reach the quarterfinals at the US Open on Sunday. Berrettini prevailed 3-6, 7-6(2), 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 in the pair’s fourth-round clash at the hard-court Grand Slam.
“I’m really proud because I didn’t start the match the way I wanted to,” said Berrettini in his on-court interview. “I was down a set and a break and I found the right energy. I have to say I was a little bit tired in the fourth, and he was playing unbelievable tennis. So, I lost the fourth, and I was like, ‘OK, now I’m going to give everything’.
The win improves Berrettini’s record in New York to 16-4, but the Italian admitted he had found the changeable conditions so far this fortnight a unique challenge.
“I like to play in these conditions, I love to play here in New York, but it’s changing a lot,” said the 2019 semi-finalist. “Two days ago against [Andy] Murray it wasn’t humid, so it changed a lot. This morning I was sweating, I was like ‘Wow’. Today had to drink a lot and that’s what I did. I did a couple of weeks training really hard before the tournament, so I was ready, and I guess it paid off.”
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