MADRID: Casper Ruud squeezed into the 25th tour-level final of his career with a 6-4, 7-5 victory over Argentina’s Francisco Cerundolo at the Madrid Open on Friday.

The Norwegian saved a whopping 15 of 18 break points faced during the one-hour 54-minute clash to reach a third Masters 1000 final, and first since Monte Carlo last year.

Overcoming early chest discomfort and in the face of a rowdy pro-Argentinian crowd, Ruud was proud of how he handled the adversity to book a final against Jack Draper or Lorenzo Musetti.

Draper booked his place in the semi-finals on Thur­s­day with a commanding 6-0, 6-4 win over Italy’s Mat­teo Arnaldi, setting up a clash with 10th seed Musetti, who eased past Canada’s Gabriel Diallo 6-4 6-3.

“There’s a lot of things to deal with as a player. It’s a lot of fun, of course, travelling the world and living this life is like a dream, don’t get me wrong. But of cou­rse you have struggles all along, almost every single week you’re dealing with some kind of minor pain or fatigue or stress somehow,” said the 26-year-old Ruud.

Ruud had to save four break points before he held serve in the opening game.

At the 2-1 changeover, the Norwegian asked for a medical timeout and told the trainer he felt a sharp pa­in in his chest while warming up with the medicine ball before the match, and it extended all the way to his back.

Ruud received treatment and took painkillers before stepping back on court.

Unnerved by the interruption, Cerundolo took the next two games, breaking Ruud at love to move ahead 3-2 but the Argentine’s lead was short-lived as his opponent struck right back.

Ruud upped the pressure in game 10 with a signature inside-out forehand and snatched the set on the 48-minute mark.

The second set was a see-saw affair that witnessed a combined five breaks of serve from 18 break point opportunities.

During a marathon 13-minute game, Ruud saved seven break points to hold for 3-2, but not before he had an argument with the chair umpire, over Argentinian fans disrupting him ahead of his serve.

The pivotal moment came in game 12 as Ruud converted a second match point to reach his first Madrid final.

“Too good, huh. Good luck,” Cerundolo told Ruud at the net.

After dropping to 15 in the world, Ruud is projected to return to the top 10 by virtue of reaching the final.

“I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to finish the match, honestly,” said the Norwegian.

“I felt something in my rib during warm-up, just towards the end, before going out and I felt it on almost every shot, especially the serve. And luckily I got some quick treatment on it. Of course I’ll go and check it out more now.

“I took a couple of painkillers, which is not ideal but in a situation like this, you have to do that every now and then.”

In the women’s section on Thursday, two-time champion Sabalenka claimed a straight-sets victory over Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina 6-3, 7-5 to reach her third consecutive final in Madrid, where she will be up against Coco Guaff.

The Belarusian delivered a dominant performance and appeared to be cruising to victory after breaking early in the second set and serving for a 5-4 lead.

Yet 17th seed Svitolina broke back in what seemed a momentum shift, before Sabalenka responded immediately, breaking again to seal the win in just over 90 minutes.

Published in Dawn, May 3rd, 2025