Norwegian Casper Ruud harnessed his mighty forehand to reach his second Grand Slam final this year by beating Russian Karen Khachanov 7-6(5) 6-2 5-7 6-2 at the U.S. Open.
Fifth seed Ruud showed he could go the distance having survived an extraordinary 55-shot rally to close the first-set tiebreak and next faces either home hope Frances Tiafoe or third seed Carlos Alcaraz of Spain in the final.
The Roland-Garros runner-up is known for his poise on clay but proved equally effective on New York's hard courts, winning 14 straight points to build a 5-1 lead in a near-flawless second set.
His form deteriorated in the third set, where he racked up 11 unforced errors and handed Khachanov the break on set point, but he bounced back to convert breaks on chances in the third and fifth game of the fourth set and clinched the contest with a forehand winner, one of 20 across the match.
