Casper Ruud returns to tennis Top 10 and reaches Madrid final for the first time

Norwegian tennis player Casper Ruud defeated Francisco Cerúndolo 6-4 and 7-5 and reaches his seventh final in an ATP Masters 1,000 or Grand Slam, first time in Madrid. Ruud reached his best position, World No. 2, in September 2022, but has since fallen out of the elite, always knocking at the doors, but never quite getting back in: his 12 ATP titles come from tournaments worth 250 or 500 ATP points.

Today, however, he defeated Cerúndolo, 6-4, 7-5, and reached the final. The Argentinian player has never ranked better than World No. 19 (currently he is 21st) but has recently earned the title of "giant killer", defeating World No. 2 Alexander Zverev in the round of 16 earlier this week. He was bested by Ruud in a stormy Friday afternoon in Madrid, and will play against Jack Draper or Lorenzo Musetti, the winner of the semi-final to be played on Friday at 20:00 CEST, 19:00 BST. The men's singles final will follow on Sunday, May 4.

Casper Ruud has guaranteed a return to the top 10 next Monday, and could reach even higher if he manages to win the final. Ruud has reached the final of two ATP Series 1,000 tournament (Miami 2022, losing to Carlos Alcaraz) and Monte Carlo 2024 (losing to Tsitsipas), as well as losing the Roland Garros finals in 2022 and 2023 and US Open in 2022. Winning in Madrid would be the biggest title of the 26-year-old.