NEW YORK — Casper Ruud of Norway still has a shot a becoming a US Open champion — and the first Norwegian to hold the No. 1 ranking — with his first trip to the quarter-finals. He’ll take on 13th-seeded Italian Matteo Berrettini after both players won their fourth-round matches.
Also, no. 12 seed Coco Gauff wagged her finger and showed the prowess that made her a US Open championship contender in a 7-5, 7-5 win over Zhang Shuai.
The 18-year-old Gauff is in the US Open quarter-finals for the first time in her career and will play France’s Caroline Garcia. Gauff is the youngest American woman to reach the US Open quarterfinals since 2009.
Gauff had the New York crowd firmly on her side and fans erupted in the third set when she wagged her finger like Dikembe Mutombo’s signature move after she went up 6-5 in the second set. Zhang had smacked a ball into the net and covered her ears because of the noise.
The fifth-seeded Ruud, already the first Norwegian man to appear in the third and fourth rounds at the US Open, advanced with a 6-1, 6-2, 6-7 (4), 6-2 win over Corentin Moutet.
Berrettini reached the US Open quarter-finals with a 3-6, 7-6 (2), 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 win over Alejandro Davidovich Fokina of Spain.
Ruud must reach the final for at least the opportunity to become the top-ranked player in men’s tennis.
The 23-year-old Ruud, Rafael Nadal, Carlos Alcaraz and current No. 1 Daniil Medvedev are the only players who can end the tournament as the world’s top-ranked player. Ruud is ranked No. 7 in the world.
Ruudd used 43 winners to earn the victory for his first match at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
”It has been a dream of mine to play on this court at least one time in my career,” Ruud said during an on-court interview according to AP.
“Now I have a win here as well, so I can tell my future kids and grandkids that I played here and that will be a fun story to tell. It was amazing.”
Also, defending champion and No. 1 seed Daniil Medvedev plays 23rd-seeded Nick Kyrgios in an Arthur Ashe Stadium showdown where the winner should be the heavy favorite to reach the final.
No. 12 seed Coco Gauff plays Shuai Zhang. Gauff, a French Open finalist this year, is trying to reach the quarterfinals at the US Open for the first time in her career.
Moutet dropped to 0-8 lifetime against top-10 opponents but the Frenchman’s week at Flushing Meadows was already a success.
He became the first lucky loser (a player who fails to make it out of qualifying but gets into the main draw when someone withdraws) to reach the fourth round at the US Open.
Berrettini, the 2021 Wimbledon runner-up, reached the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam tournament for the fifth straight time. He dropped out of Wimbledon in June because he tested positive for COVID-19 and he also missed the French Open.
Berrettini labored through most of the match but used 18 aces and six winning break points to advance.
“I’m really proud because I didn’t start the match the way I wanted to,” Berrettini said. “I was down a set and a break. I found the right energy. I have to say I was a little bit tired in the fourth, and he was playing unbelievable tennis. I lost the fourth, and I was like, ‘OK, now I’m going to give everything.’”
Ruud holds a 3-2 career edge over Berrettini.
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