Casper Ruud 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 and his big-hitting lefty game before finally shaking off the Briton to claim the biggest title of his career.
“It feels great, of course. It’s been a long time coming,” said Ruud. “[This was] one of the really big goals I dreamed about when I was young, so it’s an incredible feeling to accomplish it. Also the way I did it today, 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.
“Luckily, I played really well. Jack has become such an incredible player, on any surface now. He’s 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.”
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.
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