Madrid, May 5 : Casper Ruud defeated Jack Draper 7-5, 3-6, 6-4 to claim his first Masters 1000 title at the Madrid Open, after falling at the final hurdle in Miami in 2022 and Monte Carlo in 2024.

Ruud has more wins (125), finals (17) and titles (12) than any other player on clay since 2020. However, he arrived at this year's Mutua Madrid Open with a question mark hanging over his form having bowed out in the last sixteen in Monte Carlo and the quarters in Barcelona, where he was the defending champion. Those results caused him to fall to 15th position in the ATP world rankings.

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, ATP reports.

'It feels great, of course. It's been a long time coming. 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 , 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," said Ruud.

Despite defeat, Draper will leave Madrid with a 19-5 record for the season, and he will on Monday rise one spot to a career-high No. 5 in the ATP Rankings.

/IANS