MADRID – Casperudo became the first Norwegian to win the Masters 1000 title after beating Jack Draper 7-5, 3-6 and 6-4 in the Madrid Open Finals on Sunday.
The previous second-ranked Rood swung from a 5-3 down in the first set, sealing the victory after taking advantage of his only break in the third 2-2.
The 26-year-old Rudo pushed his arms into the air after scoring the victory in his first match point on Kahama Jacqueray Court.
“It took a long time,” Rude said. “(This is) one of the really big goals I dreamed of when I was younger, so it’s an incredible feeling to achieve that. It was also a great match in the way I do today. Jack was an incredible tournament, especially since he was playing in this tournament, I’m who around the court if I didn’t bring an A-Plus game.
No. 15, Roodo returned to the top 10 thanks to his campaign in Madrid, reaching seventh place in Monday’s rankings.
“Fortunately, I played really well,” Rood said. “Jack has now become such an incredible player on any surface… This is a really big boost for me. I want to keep doing that.”
According to the ATP, the 13-time Tour champions are the first Norwegian to lift the Masters 1000 trophy since the series was introduced in 1990. It was Rood’s third final after losing to Monte Carlo’s Stefanos Zitzpas and Miami’s Carlo Alcaraz in 2022.
According to ATP, Ruud has had more titles (12) than any other player since its launch in 2020 (12).
Draper won the Indian Wells in March. After his quarterfinal victory in Madrid, he earned his top five debut in the rankings.
Draper said Roode was “brave” than him at a key moment on Sunday.
“You deserve this,” he said. “You obviously have been doing very hard work and you’ve always had a very good year on tour… The sport is cruel, but I’m going to keep trying because I think this loss will make me better.”
The tournament in Madrid was disrupted earlier last week due to massive blackouts that halted Spain and Portugal on Monday, prompting the postponement of a total of 22 matches.
Rudo had to take some painkillers in the semi-final against Francisco Cerundo after feeling ribs during his warm-up, but there were no signs of injury on Sunday.
Drapers like Rood hadn’t lost a set on their way to the finals, but were able to finish the first set, 5-4. The 23-year-old British player was visibly upset and continued to talk to himself and his staff for a while during the switch.
The male side of the draw lost most of the top players early. Homecloud favourite Carlos Alcaraz had to withdraw from the tournament due to injury. Novak Djokovic was defeated by Matteo Arnald in the opening match.
Top ranked Aryna Sabalenka defeated Kokogoff in the women’s final on Saturday.
