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The Norwegian rebuffed Medvedev’s assertive approach with a confident display of his own to prevail 6-3, 7-5 and reach the semi-finals. Medvedev fired 23 winners and advanced to the net on 23 occasions, but Ruud remained resolute to seal a one-hour and 39-minute victory.

“I looked at our stats last night and saw he beat me on grass, outdoor hard and indoor hard. The last surface was clay so I thought ‘Please don’t make it 4-0’,” Ruud said. “I tried to use the surface to my advantage. I thought the level was pretty good from both players, I was impressed with Daniil’s ability to produce power here on clay.

”Today it felt like he was decisive and firing from the forehand, he hit some great winners. He didn’t bring what I expected.”

The quarter-final clash was their first since 2021, and first on clay. Medvedev shifted to a more aggressive approach, aiming to combat Ruud’s heavy topspin groundstrokes by taking them on the rise or even out of the air.

Yet Ruud remained patient, crucially saving each of the two break points he faced in the first set and converting the only one he carved out at 5-5 in the second to advance. The 26 year-old is the first player born in 1990 or later to reach 30 tour-level semi-finals on clay.

Ruud was unable to defend his title at the ATP 500 in Barcelona two weeks ago and subsequently dropped out of the Top 10 in the ATP rankings for the first time since last February. But with his run to a ninth Masters 1000 semi-final, Ruud is up three spots to No. 12 in the live rankings and will return to the Top 10 if he reaches the final in Madrid.

“I came here after a tough defeat in Barcelona… I worked a little bit with myself and especially the mental aspect,” Ruud said. “I think I am coming into the tournaments with a better version of myself. I’ve been playing with good intensity [in Madrid] and I would like to keep it going. 

"There has been a fire missing lately, so I am happy to bring it here in Madrid.”

He will next continue his quest for a maiden Masters 1000 trophy against 20th seed Francisco Cerundolo.