Francisco Sanchez Ruiz showcased his grit and determination as he defeated Robbie Capito 13-12 in a gripping 49th US Open Championship to become just the tenth multiple-time winner of the prestigious tournament.
Four years had passed since Sanchez Ruiz defeated Max Lechner to win the US Open for the first time, but the Spaniard etched his name into the history books once more and trousered the lucrative $100,000 champion’s cheque.
Sanchez Ruiz followed in the footsteps of fellow European Mosconi Cup stars Mika Immonen and Darren Appleton in winning a brace of US Open titles, denying Hong Kong’s Capito the biggest title of his career in the first hill-hill final in 35 years.
An intriguing final certainly lived up to its billing as an epic contest. Sanchez Ruiz took the opening rack after escaping a tense safety battle, and the two traded the lead throughout a nerve-wracking title decider, with the match tied at 4-4, 5-5 and 7-7 at various points.
The turning point looked to be going Capito’s way when he won three consecutive racks to move 10-8 ahead. Sanchez Ruiz refused to fold, however, converting a clutch combination shot to close the gap before leveling the match at ten apiece.
Capito surged again to reach the hill first at 12-10, needing just one more rack for the title, though, Sanchez Ruiz produced one final push. He punished a particularly costly missed five-ball from Capito, setting up the first US Open deciding rack since Buddy Hall defeated Dennis Hatch in 1991.
With everything in jeopardy, Sanchez Ruiz called a tactical push-out, leading to Capito failing to convert on the two-ball and therefore leaving the table wide open. Sanchez Ruiz cleared it before launching himself onto the table to celebrate in front of a respecting Texas audience.
Sanchez Ruiz had overturned a slender deficit with some clutch shots in decisive moments against Joshua Filler in the last eight, before putting friendship aside in a relatively one-sided semi-final to beat his amigo David Alcaide – who had dethroned defending champion Aloysius Yapp in the last 64.
Bouncing back from a shock second round defeat to Croatian veteran Ivica Putnik, the 2023 world champion emerged through three hill-hill contests en route to success, edging past Finland’s Petri Makkonen, Filler and Capito by the finest of margins.
Capito had executed a smattering of sensational shots to scupper Fedor Gorst’s run of three consecutive US Open finals in the quarter-finals, before producing a clinic to brush aside the red-hot Aleksa Pecelj to reach the biggest final of his career.
It was ultimately an historic final that belonged to Sanchez Ruiz nonetheless, with the Spaniard returning to world number three and earning Mosconi Cup and Reyes Cup returns, the latter of which he will compete against Capito in Rest of the World colours.
