Casper Ruud reveals why ‘7’ is his lucky number after Madrid Open victory over Jack Draper

Casper Ruud reached the Madrid Open final for the first time and became the first Norwegian to win a Masters 1000 title.

Casper Ruud reveals why ‘7’ is his lucky number after Madrid Open victory over Jack Draper

Jack Draper, Casper Ruud (Image via X/Game, Set & Talk)

Seven is a lucky number for Casper Ruud! Because in his seventh final of a tournament above the 500 category, he finally took home a title.

Ruud is a three-time Grand Slam finalist, losing all these matches to Carlos Alcaraz (in the 2022 US Open) and to Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic at the 2022 and 2023 French Open titles, respectively. In 2022 only, Ruud also progressed to the summit clash of the ATP Finals, but it was Djokovic who proved superior.

Before the Madrid Open, Ruud was a two-time Masters 1000 finalist, reaching the last stage at the 2022 Miami Open and the 2024 Monte Carlo Masters, losing them to Alcaraz, and Stefanos Tsitsipas, respectively. In all of these matches (except for the US Open), Ruud lost in straight sets, meaning he failed to win a set.

But he had enough of defeats one after the other. On Sunday (May 4), Ruud reached another final of a Masters 1000 tournament and ended it in his favor. But it wasn’t smooth sailing for him as he had to toil hard to snatch away the win from Jack Draper and become the first Norwegian to win a Masters 1000 trophy with a 7-5, 3-6, 6-4 scoreline in two hours and 29 minutes.

I’ve been in, I guess, like six, this was my seventh major final, yeah, if you count them all. So seven is a lucky number, I guess. In the end, it was worth the wait. Looking back, I’ve never been too close in any of the finals. I’ve lost most of them in straight sets.

Casper Ruud said at the press conference

Ruud took a 1-0 lead in his head-to-head encounter with Draper, who entered the final in his bid to take home two Masters 1000 in the season as well as his career. Before Madrid, Draper became the Indian Wells champion in March. The Madrid Open was his first tour-level final on clay. Before the second clay-court Masters 1000 tournament of the season, Draper had failed to move into the semifinals of the tournaments on the red dirt.

Casper Ruud reveals the difficulties he faced while playing Jack Draper

Jack Draper reached a career-high ranking of World No.5 by toppling 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic, who got knocked out in his opening round match. After losing the first set, the Brit frustrated Ruud when he became more aggressive during the rallies in the second set, winning four games on the trot when he was 2-3.

Casper Ruud
Casper Ruud (Image via X/amelia | CASPER RUUD)

He’s a pretty tall guy. He’s big, strong, and he moves very well, too. He’s capable of defending very well and also playing aggressively. He moves, like I said, great for a pretty tall guy. And, of course, he has that tricky left-handed serve, and everything becomes difficult when you play against a left-hander.

Casper Ruud said at the press conference

Ruud lifted his 13th singles title on the tour after claiming the Madrid Open. En route to capturing the biggest title of his career, Ruud prevailed over three top 10 players: Draper, Taylor Fritz, and Daniil Medvedev in the tournament. It was his first title since winning the Geneva Open last year.

Ruud, who is now 21-6 this season, also climbed back to the top 10 after dropping out of it two weeks ago due to his subpar performance in the Monte Carlo Masters and the Barcelona Open. The former World No.2 started the new week as a World No.7 player.

Both Draper and Ruud will now be preparing for the Italian Open, which starts on May 7. Last year in Rome, Draper lost in the second round, while Ruud lost his opening-round match.

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