US Open 2022 final: ‘A credit to our game’ – John McEnroe praises Casper Ruud ahead of Carlos Alcaraz clash

John McEnroe paid tribute to Casper Ruud after reaching his second Grand Slam final and hailed the way in which the unassuming Norwegian goes about things.

“Casper did great, he backed up the French Open, I am impressed and he’s looking awesome. He’s got a shot at winning this thing. I can’t believe I am saying this but Casper Ruud might be number one in the world in a couple of days,” said McEnroe.

“It’s awesome, he’s humble, he’s not going to light the stadium on fire with his charisma like an Alcaraz or Frances Tiafoe – but he’s a credit to our game. He’s extremely solid, he works hard, I think spending the last couple of years at the Nadal Academy, seeing how Rafa does things, helped him realise he had to do even more.

“There’s an interesting dynamic with his dad being his coach and being so involved in that. It’s amazing how well that’s worked, especially since his dad was a former pro who got to the top 50 in the world. That’s pretty big that they have been able to navigate that as well as they have, so this is an awesome effort.”

Ruud reached his first Grand Slam final earlier this year when he was beaten by the King of Clay, Rafael Nadal, and McEnroe has been impressed by the in which the 23-year-old has recovered in recent months.

“In the French Open, I think he was totally overwhelmed thinking he’s got to play Rafael Nadal on clay – who wouldn’t be? – but now he seems to be playing even better than he was at the French Open,” continued McEnroe.

“He’s got to go in thinking that he’s a great chance to win this. Of course, we never know if it is going to happen again. I saw Juan Martin del Potro in the stands yesterday, he won a Slam at the age of 21 and we thought he’d win a bunch of them but he never won another one. For every Rafa Nadal who’s won 22, there are other guys who never even have that chance to just win one.

“I saw Casper Ruud up close and personal at the Laver Cup last year and I thought we had a good chance in an indoor court – Reilly Opelka, the huge hitter – and he really dominated him. I saw him and I thought this guy serves a lot bigger than I thought, he hits a bigger ball that I thought – he’s not a huge guy – the fact he’s been able to step it up and be more bold on a hard court – I didn’t see this one coming, that he’d be this good on hard courts.”

Sunday’s final is due to get underway at the Arthur Ashe Stadium at 21:00 BST.

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