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Casper Ruud, the Norwegian tennis player, won the coveted Madrid Open for the first-time in his professional career, which was also his maiden Masters 1000 title, at the Manolo Santana Stadium on Sunday, May 4. The 26-year-old defeated British number one Jack Draper in an enthralling final of the Madrid Open in the Spanish capital, which went the distance, and the final scoreline read 7-5, 3-6, 6-4 in two hours and 29 minutes.
At the start of the first set in the Madrid Open final, Jack Draper earned an early break before taking a 5-3 lead, but then, Casper Ruud made a stunning comeback, winning four points in a row to take the opener 7-5. Draper wasn’t happy with himself after losing the first set, having an emotional outburst on his chair, and he went on to recover well in the second set, winning it comfortably with 6-3.
In the third and deciding set, Casper Ruud was exceptional in the very beginning, breaking Jack Draper’s serve to take a 3-2 lead before he managed to serve it out, to win the set, match, and the Madrid Open. With that, he also became the first player from Norway to clinch a Masters 1000 title in his career, and the future is expected to be quite bright for him as he is entering the peak of his career.
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Jack is an incredible player: Casper Ruud on Draper
Following his win in the final of the Madrid Open, Casper Ruud was quite appreciative of Jack Draper for his performances in the tournament, coming close to winning the ATP Tour clay court title for the first-time in his career. He was quoted as saying, as per BBC Sport, “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.”
Meanwhile, Jack Draper remarked on his tough loss, “This sport is brutal but I will keep trying, I think this loss will make me better. I thought there was a lot of good stuff but in a couple of key moments I felt like his level maintained and mine maybe just dipped off a little bit. Not quite getting over the line helps fuel my fire a bit more that I need to keep on pushing, I need to keep on improving.”
