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Jack Draper’s excellent breakthrough run on the clay courts of Madrid was halted at the final hurdle in a bruising, physical tussle against the 14th seed Casper Ruud, who brilliantly held his nerve to win his first Masters 1000 title with a 7-5, 3-6, 6-4 win.
A two-time French Open finalist, Ruud was competing in the seventh significant final of his career. He had lost all six of those previous matches, including both those Paris finals in 2022 and 2023, the 2022 US Open final and the ATP finals. Finally, he has clinched the first significant title of his career.
After an incredible two weeks in the Spanish capital, this will be a painful defeat for Draper to digest after he led 5-3 in the opening set before conceding four consecutive games. He recovered impressively, fighting brilliantly to force a final set but he was outlasted by one of the best clay-court tennis players in the world. Still, Draper solidified his status as among the very top contenders in men’s tennis on every single surface and at all levels.
Before this tournament, Draper’s best results on clay were a couple of quarter-finals at lowly ATP 250 events. He had never won three consecutive ATP matches on the surface or beaten a top-30 player. Although he fully believed he had the ability to thrive on clay, he arrived in Madrid searching for a breakthrough on the surface. He has done just that. Alongside his new career-high ATP ranking of No 5, Draper now sits No 2 in the ATP race, which charts results within the calendar year and he is now the only British man, other than Andy Murray, to reach Masters 1000 finals on both hard and clay courts. There is no doubt that he has the ability to win a major title.
Over the past three seasons, Ruud has established himself as one of the very best players on this surface. He entered the final having won 124 matches and 11 titles over the last five years, more than any other player on the ATP tour during this period. His wicked topspin forehand, athleticism and durability make him such a difficult opponent on the surface. Having lost in all six of his previous big finals, winning only one set between them, Ruud was anxious to finally win one of the biggest titles.
That anxiety was visible early on as the Norwegian double-faulted twice to hand over the first break of the match for 2-1. Draper, meanwhile, settled down immediately by taking control of the baseline from early on and refusing to let go. At their best, with Draper eviscerating his forehand down the line and landing blows with his backhand, the Briton’s greater firepower and well-balanced groundstrokes were too much for Ruud.
But so much of this sport is decided in the head. As he stepped up to serve for the set, Draper struggled to control his nerves for the first time all tournament. At 5-4, he produced his first poor service game and after an array of missed first serves, unforced errors and tentative groundstrokes from Draper, Ruud sensed the moment and pounced. Ruud took control of the baseline with his forehand against an increasingly tentative Draper and rolled through the final four games of the set to snatch the lead.
By the end of the set, Draper was overcome with frustration, airing his anger towards his player box, while Ruud was determined to carry his momentum for as long as he could. But Draper quickly composed himself and rebuilt his confidence with a series of solid service holds. He was rewarded for his resilience at 3-3 as Ruud missed first serves and Draper forced himself back on top of the baseline, breaking serve with a searing forehand and marching to a final set.
With such an enormous title on the line, the two players tussled in the final set with desperation and desire. While Ruud tested Draper’s strength by dragging him into physical, protracted rallies, Draper tried hard to shorten points and hit his way out of them.
After a series of tension-filled games early in the set, with both players generating break points, it was Ruud who broke Draper’s spirit and serve as he took a 3-2 lead in the final set. Draper fought admirably until the end, holding off a double break and forcing Ruud to close out his first Masters 1000 title on his own serve. At long last, he did.
