A Novak Djokovic v Carlos Alcaraz US Open final would be a ‘treat for the fans’, says Casper Ruud

Casper Ruud believes another meeting between Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz at the US Open would be a “treat for the fans”.

Alcaraz and Djokovic will be the No. 1 and 2 seeds respectively at Flushing Meadows, meaning the first time the pair will be able to meet is in the final in New York.

Speaking ahead of the US Open which gets underway on August 28, Ruud, who will be the No. 5 seed, says Djokovic and Alcaraz’s tennis styles complement each other well to create a spectacle every time they play.

“Carlos and Novak, they kind of play similar tennis in a way,” the 2022 US Open finalist told Eurosport’s Barbara Schett on ‘Ruud Talk’.

“Just there’s one thing that they do opposite. I mean, they have kind of all shots in the book. But Carlos maybe plays at a little higher speed in the way he can accelerate even more. But they move great. They have all shots. It’s tough to find their weaknesses.

“They both have a good drop shot. Carlos plays maybe more forehands, Novak defends from the backhand side.

“They’re good enough as it is on the net. They’ve got good hand skills and their returns are great. So obviously it’s always going to be a good match-up when they play each other. And you’ve seen it in the past four times that they’ve played and they have 2-2 head-to-head.

“It’s always been a really, really good match. It’s a match-up that is going to be a treat for fans and who knows for how many years. When they play it’s going to be interesting and I’m one of the players who are going to try to stop them from playing again here in New York because it means that if they play, it’s in the final.

“So everyone else also wants to reach the final, but they’re now the guys who mostly fans will keep their eyes on during the tournament. And they’re the two biggest favourites for sure.”

Ruud believes “most of the attention” will be on the world No. 1 and the 23-time Grand Slam winner from tennis fans and pundits, as a result of their developing rivalry.

“I guess you only need to win one match against them [Alcaraz and Djokovic],” the Norwegian said.

“Carlos has everything to lose with defending 2000 [Grand Slam winner] points, but they have been going back and forth now for around the year.

“It’s fun that race is on. I think that it’s more important to win the slam if they could, other than to keep that number one or number two. That probably won’t make too big of a difference for them. But for sure they are the world No. 1 and 2.

“It’s going to be interesting. Most of the attention is going to be on them. It’s great for the tournament. You’ll have one guy playing one day, the other one playing the other day you will be going back and forth. So it’s going to be an exciting tournament in New York this year.”

Ruud, who is bidding to win the first Grand Slam of his career, thinks there are a few players who could spring a surprise at this year’s tournament.

He said: “You have a lot of players who want to do well. Alexander Zverev is beginning to find his form after an injury last year, he’s been playing much better. Daniil [Medvedev] you can’t count him out. He’s also won there before. Carlos, of course, Novak.

“Stefanos Tsitsipas maybe will make a good run. Holger Rune also, who is No. 4 seed I believe for the first time this year, so it’s going to be interesting.

“You have [Taylor] Fritz and [Frances] Tiafoe, who’s going to want to do well on home soil and in front of the home crowd. I’m going to do my best as well. And many, many others, we’ll see.

“There are always surprises in Grand Slams, so it’s fun to see who’s going to be the big surprise this year.”