With three weeks to go until Roland Garros, Casper Ruud has claimed the biggest title of his career on clay or any other surface.
The Norwegian world No 15 survived a tense, attritional battle against Britain’s Jack Draper to win the Madrid Open, his first Masters 1000 crown, 7-5, 3-6, 6-4 in two hours and 29 minutes.
It marks a significant breakthrough for the 26-year-old, who has twice previously come up short in finals at this level, first at the 2022 Miami Open against Carlos Alcaraz and then in Monte Carlo last spring, where he was undone by Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Ruud failed to win a set on either of those occasions, but his resilient win over Draper means he has now racked up a dozen title wins on the red dirt since 2020 – three more than Alcaraz, the reigning French Open champion, who stands second in the list with nine.
Better yet, for a player who has also lost two finals at Roland Garros and one each at the US Open and ATP Finals, Ruud finally has his hands on one of the game’s bigger prizes.
“I know, based on the last years that I’ve had on tour, how tough it is to do well at the biggest tournaments, and I’ve never been able to get over the finish line as a champion,” he said. “But today I was able to, and this week here in Madrid, so extremely happy and proud, of course, that I was able to stay focused in the tournament.”
Draper did not make that task easy, and in the early stages it seemed more likely that the high-flying 23-year-old would claim his second Masters 1000 title of the season, becoming the first Briton to win at this level on hard courts and clay since Andy Murray, than that Ruud would finally break his big-match hoodoo.
Revelling in the quicker conditions in Madrid, where the altitude of about 650 metres above sea level ensures the ball is swifter through the air than at other clay-court events, Draper used his heavy southpaw serve and heavy forehand to good effect to establish a 5-3 lead.
It is an approach that has served the 23-year-old well over a fortnight in which he has seen off Tallon Griekspoor, Matteo Berretini, Tommy Paul, Arnaldi and Lorenzo Musetti, all players with an ostensibly superior clay-court pedigree.
But as Ruud elevated his level, particularly on the return of serve, Draper’s form dipped, prompting the loss of four straight games and a furious outburst at the changeover. Draper can nonetheless take much from his sojourn in the Spanish capital, where he has demonstrated that he can prosper on his least favoured surface. He will arrive in Rome next as the new world No 5, one place clear of Novak Djokovic.
“I knew I was good on the clay,” said Draper, who claimed the Indian Wells title seven weeks ago. “I had a couple of really tight losses last year, and I just needed to get my foot in the door somewhere to show that I’m able to compete to a really high level on this surface.
“I think this week has shown that, to myself and others. The biggest positive I’m taking away is the fact that I’m still learning how to move and play on this surface, and I’m right there. I’m competing with the best clay courters, the best guys on this surface in the world.”
Ruud certainly belongs in that category. The Norwegian rebounded impressively from a courageous second-set fightback from Draper and grew in stature down the stretch, threatening an early break and averting danger on his own delivery before seizing the initiative in the fifth game. Striking his sledgehammer forehand with unshakable conviction, he would not be caught, holding to love to claim a cathartic victory.
“This was my seventh big final, if you count them all,” said Ruud. “So seven is a lucky number, I guess. It was worth the wait in the end. I’ve never really been too close in any of the finals when I look back. I’ve lost the majority of them in straight sets.
“But when I lost the second set today, I was a bit frustrated. Jack really stepped up in the end of serve in that second set. I felt like I was in a good position, it was 7-5, 3-2, and then suddenly, boom, 3-6. But I told myself, ‘Try to stay positive.’
“If you had been offered at the beginning of the week that you would play the third set for the trophy, you would probably take it.
“I always dreamed about winning tournaments like this, or grand slams, or becoming world No 1, and I’ve been fairly close.
“I’ve tried to learn from that and think that one day there will come another opportunity, and maybe I can seize it. I guess that was the key to the victory today.”