MADRID – It took a while, but it finally happened: Norway’s Casper Ruud reached a new level by winning the Madrid tournament, the first Masters 1000 title of his career.
Ruud defeated Britain’s Jack Draper 7-5, 3-6, 6-4 in an intense final lasting two hours and 29 minutes in the Spanish capital.
On a very cool spring afternoon in Madrid, Ruud and Draper made every penny spent on a ticket to a tournament of this magnitude worthwhile: every point was a battle, every ball was played with passion. It was a pleasure to watch two such consistent players, both mentally and physically committed to finding their opponent’s weak spot.
Draper, who is enjoying the best moment of his career, impressed with the power of his forehand and his ability to take advantage of his left-handedness, hitting to the open angle and unsettling his opponent. But Ruud is still Ruud, a shot-returning machine, albeit with a surprising attitude on the clay of Madrid. It is as if, at the age of 25, he has finally convinced himself of what a good tennis player he is.
Between 2022 and 2024, Ruud had reached six finals and lost six times in Grand Slam and Masters 1000 tournaments. The Norwegian, who had dropped out of the top ten, will be ranked number five in the world from Monday, a position more in line with his status as a three-time Grand Slam finalist. That is precisely the new category he will now seek to unlock: winning one of the four majors.
“Roland Garros should be very open for both men and the women’s side;” said Ruud after the final. “I think my win here shows the other player that I’m here trying to do well for the rest of the season”, he added.
