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Ruud, who had not won a set in his two previous Masters 1000 finals, went toe to toe with Draper and his big-hitting 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,” Ruud said. “[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 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.

After an inconsistent start to 2025 by his own high standards, Ruud dropped out of the Top 10 just two weeks ago. By improving to 21-6 for the season with his Madrid title run, however, he will on Tuesday climb eight spots to No. 7 in the ATP Rankings. A former TP Finals runner-up, the Norwegian has also surged 19 spots to fifth in the  ATP Live Race To Turin as a result of his Madrid title run.

“I owe a lot of my success to all my closest ones,” said Ruud, who has more tour-level wins (125) and titles (12) on clay than any other player since the start of 2020. “My family, my friends, my fiancee Maria. We got engaged last year, so she’s been an incredible support for me over many years now. 

"She came yesterday to come and support, and maybe that was the last little push I needed to get over the finish line. I’m really happy, and it’s great I’m surrounded by so many amazing people. I’m a really lucky guy.”

Despite defeat, Draper can reflect on another groundbreaking week in his 2025 season. The 23 year-old will leave Madrid with a 19-5 record for the season, and he will on Tuesday rise one spot to a career-high No. 5 in the  ATP Rankings. The Briton is second in the ATP Live Race To Turin as he chases a debut ATP Finals appearance.

“Congratulations Casper, you deserve this,” Draper said. “The way you played today, you were braver than me in the key moments. You deserve this. 

"You’ve obviously put in so much hard work and constantly had very good years on the Tour. I just want to congratulate you and the rest of your team for all the hard work.

“This loss hurts, but I also want to thank my team… This sport is brutal, but I think this loss is going to make me better, so I’ll keep trying.”

Ruud show some early nerves by producing consecutive double faults to hand his opponent a break in the third game. The Briton maintained the upper hand for much of the early exchanges and fired a series of rasping down-the-line winners off his forehand wing, but he could not maintain his momentum.

Draper delivered a sloppy service game at 5-3 to hand the break back and, with the Norwegian starting to find his range with his own forehand, he was unable to halt the slide. Ruud reeled off four straight games to clinch an opening set in which he won 91 per cent (20/2) of points behind his first serve.

Despite that disappointment, Draper continued to display the sort of shotmaking that helped him earn his spot in his maiden tour-level final on clay. In the second set, the Briton stepped up his aggression during rallies and he earned a four-game streak of his own, from 2-3, to level the match in style inside the Caja Magica.

In the decider, both players held up under pressure on serve early. Draper pulled through a marathon third game, during which he saved three break points, before Ruud saved two break points in the next game. At 2-2, Ruud broke through decisively on return, as he wore Draper down with his consistency from the baseline. He dropped just three further points on serve to complete his triumph.