Casper Ruud spoiled Jack Draper’s party at the Madrid Open, beating the Brit to lift the biggest title of his career. Draper had been on a tear at the Caja Magica, but the 14th seed came back from a break down in the opening set, sealing a 7-5 3-6 6-4 victory to claim his first Masters 1000 crown.
Ruud will now re-enter the world’s top 10 while Draper is set for his top-five debut on Monday. The Norwegian becomes just the second man ranked outside of the elite 10 to lift the trophy in Madrid.
It had been a statement fortnight for both players – neither dropped a set on their way to the final, but something had to give. Ruud had his sights set on winning the biggest title of his career, hoping it would be third time lucky after losing his first two Masters finals.
But Draper was standing in his way. The world No. 6 lifted his first Masters 1000 title less than two months ago at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, cracking the top 10 as a result, and he backed it up by getting to the final in Madrid.
The Brit drew first blood, breaking in the third game as Ruud could only applaud Draper’s level. But he finally blinked while serving for the set, sending the ball long to gift Ruud the game.
After leading 5-3, Draper suddenly fell flat, dropping four games in a row to lose the set. The 23-year-old was furious with his drop-off, bearing himself berating himself at the changeover.
He did well to regroup, holding to love when he stepped up to serve again in the second set. Again, Draper was the first to break in set two, ripping a forehand winner up the line to pull ahead.
His back was against the wall when Ruud immediately had two chances to get back on serve, but Draper snuffed them out. This time, the Brit refused to let his 5-3 lead go. He broke again to force a decider, hitting just one unforced error in the 37-minute set.
The rollercoaster continued in the third set. Draper survived a marathon 10-minute game, and both men missed opportunities to break early in the decider.
But the fifth seed finally succumbed to Ruud, pushing the ball wide to give him the break. It all seemed to be going wrong for Draper, who lost his first serve after receiving his second time violation of the match, and had to save another break point.
The Brit kept himself hot on Ruud’s heels, successfully serving to stay in the match, and the title was on the 14th seed’s racket. It was a huge moment for Ruud, who was serving for his biggest-ever title.
But he showed nerves of steel, roaring as he set up three championship points. Ruud unleashed one more massive forehand that Draper couldn’t get back in play and the world No. 15 officially became the Madrid Open champion, lifting his arms into the air in celebration.
Ruud was speechless, admitting he didn’t even know what to write on the camera lens in celebration. Afterwards, he was full of plenty of kind words for Draper.
“It feels great. I mean, it’s been a long time coming. It’s one really big goal I’ve dreamed about since I was young so it’s an incredible feeling to accomplish it and the way I did it also today, it was a great match,” he said.
“I knew Jack has been playing unbelievable all year and especially this tournament, I knew that if I don’t bring my A, A+ game, I’m going to be whooped around the court. Luckily I played really well.
“Jack has become really such an incredible player on any surface now. He’s won titles on every surface except here, and now he’s already made finals here in Madrid so it’s an incredible year he’s having.”
