Casper Ruud was looking to advance to his third career Masters 1000 final.
The Norwegian ATP star has enjoyed a fantastic week in the Spanish capital, producing several stand-out performances.
Ruud took down Arthur Rinderknech, Sebastian Korda, and Taylor Fritz to book his place in the quarterfinals.
In straight sets, Ruud beat Daniil Medvedev, securing his maiden career victory against the former Grand Slam champion.
Ruud then faced off against Argentina’s Francisco Cerundolo for a spot in the final and secured a mightily impressive 6-4, 7-5 win.
The win was made all the more impressive after the match, when Ruud revealed he picked up an injury during the warm-up.
Casper Ruud felt a ‘sharp pain’ in his ribs during the warm-up before winning his Madrid Open semi-final
During a post-match interview with Sky Sports, Ruud shared how he injured himself minutes before his Madrid Open semi-final.
“Some matches, more things are going on than others; today was a little bit of everything,” he said.
“In the gym right before going out, I felt a sharp pain. I was doing some overheads with a medicine ball, and something kind of happened in the back rib area.
“Not sure what it is, I haven’t checked it out yet, other than I felt like it was a sharp pain.”
The Norwegian explained how he managed to overcome the injury to book his spot in the final.
“It was quite painful in the beginning, it was bothering me hitting full shots,” said Ruud.
“I got some treatment on it, adrenaline was of course rising, then I got some painkillers, which is not necessarily ideal or what you want, but you have to sometimes, especially in these situations.
“I tried to think one game at a time, it’s a long match, marathon, not a sprint, and I got broken right away, then broke back, so it was a little bit up and down.
“Overall, I felt I played some really good clay court tennis today when I had to and on the most important points.”
Ruud faced an astonishing 18 break points throughout, as Sky Sports pundit Colin Fleming shared his thoughts on the ‘scrappy’ encounter during his post-match analysis.
| Player | Aces | Double faults | First serve % | Win % on first serve | Win % on second serve | Break points |
| Casper Ruud | 4 | 3 | 67% | 63% | 48% | 5/9 |
| Francisco Cerundolo | 2 | 3 | 62% | 68% | 50% | 3/18 |
“It was a bit of a scrappy match. There was quality, but there wasn’t the sustained quality we expected; it was dramatic,” said Fleming.
“I understand it’s the most break points Casper Ruud has faced in a best of three set match, goodness me [Francisco] Cerundolo can’t say he didn’t have his chances to get through today, so he’ll regret some of those.
“But ultimately, there’s a big prize on the line this weekend, and you could maybe taste that as those two were going at it, and it was maybe the experience that carried him through, a bit more positivity as well.”
Casper Ruud pleaded with the umpire to change the rules mid-match in Madrid
Perhaps the biggest talking point of the match came during the second set, when a fan disrupted Ruud before his serve.
The pro-Cerundolo crowd were lively throughout the match but overstepped the mark on several occasions, often on Ruud’s second serves.
After he lost the point, a frustrated Ruud spoke to the umpire, requesting he make an amendment to the rules.
“How many times can they scream before I can demand something? How many seconds before I can demand, let’s say, another serve or a replay? If he does it again and again and again… nothing,” he said.
“If you call ‘first serve for Ruud’… hypothetically, I know you can’t… but let’s say you do it. Do you think he’s going to do it again? Probably not. I know you do your best, but just saying ‘Please don’t do it again’ is not enough. Some fans are too loud.
“I know it’s tough for Francisco [Cerundolo] because he didn’t do anything. But the fan is cheering for him, if you give me a first serve, he’s never going to do it again. So there would be no problem.”
The umpire agreed with the Norwegian but explained to him that the rulebook wouldn’t allow him to make such a change.
“I know but we can’t do this,” he said.
Former British tennis star Annabel Croft shared her thoughts on the incident after the match, as she sided with the world number 15.
“It was an interesting talking point when he went to the umpire and had that great long discussion,” she said.
“Some of the supporters had been disrupting him between first and second serves, and then he asked the umpire how many seconds does it take before I’m owed a first serve, don’t you need to change the rules on that one?
“Which I thought was a fair enough point.”
Ruud managed to overcome the frustration to win in straight sets and advance to his first Madrid Open final.
The 26-year-old will take on either Lorenzo Musetti or Jack Draper in the Madrid Open final on Sunday, May 4.
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