No. 14 seed Casper Ruud of Norway won the first ATP Masters 1000 title of his career, defeating fifth-seeded Jack Draper of Great Britain 7-5, 3-6, 6-4 in the final of the Mutua Madrid Open on Sunday.
Ruud, 26, a three-time Grand Slam finalist, has won 125 matches and 12 titles on clay since the beginning of this decade — more than any other player — while the 23-year-old Draper was seeking his first clay-court title.
“It feels great, of course,” said Ruud, who finished with nine aces to six for Draper. “It’s been a long time coming, and it’s one really big goal that I dreamed about since I was young.
“It was a great match, I knew Jack had been playing unbelievable all year, and especially in this tournament, so I knew that if I didn’t bring my A-plus game, I was going to be whooped around the court.”
The tide turned in the opening set of the two-hour, 29-minute match, as Ruud rebounded from a 3-5 deficit by winning four straight games. The Norwegian relied heavily on his first serve, winning 20 of 22 (90.9 percent) of his first-serve points in the set. Draper certainly didn’t help himself, committing 14 unforced errors.
Despite five second-set aces from Ruud, Draper turned it around, winning 13 of 16 first-serve points (81.3 percent) and committing just one unforced error compared to 14 for his opponent. Like Ruud in the first set, Draper reeled off four straight games when down 2-3 to even the match at one set apiece.
In the decisive third set, Ruud won 10 of his 15 second-serve points and saved both break points. With the set deadlocked at 2, Ruud broke Draper’s serve and maintained the lead before closing it out with forehand winners down the line in the final game.
“Firstly, congratulations to Casper on this win, you really deserve it,” said Draper, who had 43 winners to 40 for Ruud and three fewer unforced errors (33-30). “You were braver than me in the key moments. Congratulations to you and your team for all the hard work. … This sport is brutal but I will keep trying, I think this loss will make me better.”
With the victory, Ruud will move up eight spots to No. 7 in the ATP rankings on Monday after falling out of the top 10 two weeks ago. Draper is guaranteed to rise into the top five for the first time.
“Luckily, I played really well,” Ruud said. “(Draper has) won title on every surface except (clay), and he’s already made finals here in Madrid. So it’s an incredible year he is having. This is a really big boost for me, and I would like to keep it going.”
–Field Level Media
