Madrid26-year-old is first Norwegian to lift an ATP Masters 1000 trophy
May 04, 2025
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Casper Ruud celebrates his three-set victory on Sunday in the Madrid final against Jack Draper. By Andy West
Perseverance paid off for Casper Ruud on Sunday at the Mutua Madrid Open.
The Norwegian kept his cool to clinch his maiden ATP Masters 1000 title with a 7-5, 3-6, 6-4 championship-match triumph against Jack Draper in the Spanish capital. Ruud, who had not won a set in his two previous Masters 1000 finals, went toe to toe with Draper’s big-hitting lefty game before finally shaking off the Briton to claim the biggest title of his career.
A MASTERS 1000 CHAMPION FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME 🤩@mutuamadridopen | #MMOpen pic.twitter.com/HeN6OWQqA1
— ATP Tour (@atptour) May 4, 2025
With his two-hour, 29-minute triumph, Ruud became the first Norwegian to claim a Masters 1000 crown. A three-time Grand Slam finalist and former No. 2 in the PIF ATP Rankings, the 26-year-old is now a 13-time champion on the ATP Tour. In Madrid, he recorded three Top 10 wins in the same event for only the second time in his career: He downed World No. 4 Taylor Fritz, No. 10 Daniil Medvedev and No. 6 Draper en route to the title.
Having dropped out of the Top 10 just two weeks ago, Ruud will on Monday climb eight spots to No. 7 in the PIF ATP Rankings. A former Nitto ATP Finals runner-up, the Norwegian has also surged 19 spots to fifth in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin as a result of his Madrid title run.
Competing in his maiden Lexus ATP Head2Head clash with the in-form Draper, who himself claimed a Masters 1000 crown in March in Indian Wells, Ruud showcased some early nerves by producing consecutive double faults to hand his opponent a break in the third game. The Briton maintained the upper hand for much of the early exchanges and fired a series of rasping down-the-line winners off his forehand wing, but he could not maintain his momentum.
Draper delivered a sloppy service game at 5-3 to hand the break back and, with the Norwegian starting to find his range with his own forehand, he was unable to halt the slide. Ruud reeled off four straight games to clinch an opening set in which he won 91 per cent (20/2) of points behind his first serve, according to Infosys ATP Stats.
Despite that disappointment, Draper continued to display the sort of shotmaking that earned him his spot in his maiden tour-level final in clay. In the second set, the Briton stepped up his aggression during rallies and he earned a four-game streak of his own, from 2-3, to level the match in style inside the Caja Magica.
In the decider, both players held up under pressure on serve early. Draper pulled through a marathon third game, during which he saved three break points, before Ruud saved two break points in the next game. Finally, at 2-2, Ruud broke through decisively on return, as his consistency from the baseline wore Draper down. He dropped just three further points on serve to complete his triumph.
