Ruud Survives Moutet Revival To Reach QFs

Casper Ruud recovered from a mid-match wobble at the US Open on Sunday, when he moved past French lucky loser Corentin Moutet 6-1, 6-2, 6-7(4), 6-2 to reach the quarter-finals in New York for the first time.

The Norwegian was pushed to the limit in his five-set third-round win against Tommy Paul, but looked on course for a comfortable victory against Moutet on Arthur Ashe stadium. However, from 4-2 ahead in the third set, the 23-year-old lost concentration and control on his forehand, with Moutet rallying to clinch the set and a foothold in the match.

Ruud was not to be denied, though. He 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.

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Ruud, who is making his fourth appearance at the hard-court Grand Slam, will next face 13th-seeded Italian Matteo Berrettini. The fifth seed has won three tour-level titles this season, while he reached his maiden Grand Slam final at Roland Garros in June.

Ruud now holds a 42-15 record on the year and has a chance of rising to No. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings after the US Open. He is one of four players - Rafael Nadal, Daniil Medvedev and Carlos Alcaraz - who have the opportunity to finish the US Open as the World No. 1. All but Nadal must reach the championship match to have a chance of leaving New York in top spot. More On Key Matches In Battle For No. 1.

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Moutet defeated former World No. 3 Stan Wawrinka, 2021 quarter-finalist Botic van de Zandschulp and Argentine Pedro Cachin to become the first lucky loser on record to reach the fourth round at the US Open. The 23-year-old struggled to deal with Ruud's consistency at times in their first ATP Head2Head meeting and was tough on himself, dropping to the floor to do nine pushups after hitting a poorly executed drop shot at the start of the second set.

Despite defeat, Moutet is up to No. 80 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings following his run in New York.