- Casper Ruud beat Jack Draper 7-5, 3-6, 6-4, to claim the Madrid Open
- Draper was looking to win his second Masters 1000 title in two months
Casper Ruud beat Jack Draper 7-5, 3-6, 6-4 to win the Madrid Open and prevent the British No1 seed from his second Masters title in two months.
It is a first Masters 1000 title tournament win for the Norwegian, who is a three-time Grand Slam finalist.
Draper broke first but Ruud came back from 5-3 down to take the first set 7-5.
Draper, who had no dropped a set in Madrid before losing the first to Ruud, was aiming his first clay title of his career, and won the second set 6-3, before Ruud claimed victory with 6-4 in the third.
World No 15 Ruud has now won 12 of 13 career titles on clay and dispatched Fritz and Daniil Medvedev in the previous rounds.
It is a first Master’s tournament win for the Norwegian, who is a three-time Grand Slam finalist
Jack Draper leapfrogged Novak Djokovic into the world’s top five with his run to the final
He becomes just the second man outside of top 10 to lift the trophy in Madrid.
The contest was his 18th final on clay, with Djokovic the only active player to have reached more finals on the surface.
Draper beat Tallon Griekspoor, Matteo Berrettini, Tommy Paul, Matteo Arnaldi and Lorenzo Musetti to reach the final.
In doing so, the 23-year-old leapfrogged Novak Djokovic into the world’s top five.
Ruud overcame Argentine Francisco Cerundolo 6-4, 7-5 to reach the final.
Draper, who won the Indian Wells crown in March, was looking for his second Masters title in just two months.
Following the win, Ruud said: ‘It feels great, of course. It’s been a long time coming, this is a really big goal that I have dreamed about since I was so young.
‘It was a great match, I knew that Jack has been playing so well all year, so I knew I had to bring my A+ game. Jack is an incredible player.
‘I owe a lot of my success to my family, my coaches, my friends. I’m surrounded by amazing people, I’m a very lucky guy.’
Jack Draper said: ‘Firstly, congratulations to Casper on this win, you really deserve it. You were braver than me in the key moments. Congratulations to you and your team for all the hard work.
‘This loss hurts but I also want to thank my own team, my family for all of the support. And thank you for all the fans who come out here to support us, it means so much to all of us who love tennis and love playing in front of you.
‘This sport is brutal but I will keep trying, I think this loss will make me better.’
More to follow.
