Saturday, September 10, 2022

Two players in their first Grand Slam final playing to be number one for the first time: apparently a first-time scenario

In tomorrow's men's singles final at the US Open, nineteen-year-old Carlos Alcaraz of Spain (currently ranked fourth) faces twenty-three-year-old Casper Ruud of Norway (currently ranked seventh). As has been frequently pointed out, the two are each playing for their first Grand Slam title, and the winner will be number one. But I haven't seen it mentioned that this is apparently a first-time scenario: I've found only one other case where a man became number one for the first time by winning a Grand Slam, and then it involved number two Mats Wilander (who had already won six Grand Slam titles) defeating number one Ivan Lendl at the US Open in 1988. (Andrew Shields, #111words, 10 September 2022)


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