Ruud overcomes injury scare to reach his first final in Madrid, confirms top 10 return
Casper Ruud defeated Francisco Cerundolo in straight sets on Friday at Caja Magica to make his third ATP Masters 1000 final
Casper Ruud celebrates victory in semi-finals in Madrid. | © Zuma / PsnewZ
Norway’s Casper Ruud dug deep to defeat Argentina’s Francisco Cerundolo 6-4, 7-5 in the 2025 Madrid Open semi-finals on Friday, May 2.
The win meant Ruud reached his third ATP Masters 1000 final—first in Madrid, and confirmed his return to the ATP top 10 only a couple of weeks after slipping out.
The world No 15 raised retirement concerns early on as he experienced discomfort in his ribs and needed medical attention after the third game.
“I wasn’t sure I was gonna be able to finish the match honestly,” the Norwegian said while talking about the injury scare in his on-court interview. “I felt something in my rib during the warm up just towards the end before going out. I felt it almost every shot. Especially the serve. Luckily I got some quick treatment on it. I will go check it out more now.
“I had a couple of painkillers, which is not the ideal thing but in a situation like this you have to do it every now and then. I was able to try and play one game at a time. It was easing and getting a little bit better as the match went on. But you need to get it checked out. Hopefully it’s nothing too bad. It was quite sharp.”
The two won an equal number of points, 75, in the match but Cerundolo failed to step up in crucial moments as Ruud saved a total of 15 break points and converted five.
The Argentinian hit 28 winners, 11 more than his opponent, but committed 27 unforced errors to lose in an hour, 53 minutes.
Set 1: Ruud takes the lead under the roof
The match opened with a tight first game as Cerundolo forced Ruud to save four break points. The Argentinian then served out an easy hold in the second game moments after the Norwegian requested to see the physio.
Ruud missed an easy overhead in the third game but held nonetheless before opting for a three-minute-long medical timeout to receive a back massage.
The Norwegian came out rejuvenated after the hiatus, but Cerundolo warded him off to hold serve. The Argentinian then secured a break in the fifth game, benefitting from a double fault. His lead, however, didn’t last long as Ruud broke back immediately, with the roof beginning to come on.
The conditions changed to indoors after the eighth game, and the players remained on serve until Ruud scored a surprise break in the 10th game to take the set.
Back in full flight ✈️@CasperRuud rallies from a break down & takes the first set 6-4.#MMOpen pic.twitter.com/vPdYottTwY
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) May 2, 2025
Set 2: cerundolo blows 11 break points, Ruud wins
As in the first set, Cerundolo drew first blood by converting a break point in the third game, only to be broken back in the fourth.
The two players then endured a 14-minute-long tussle in the fifth game, with the Norwegian, annoyed by the crowd, saving a staggering seven break points to hold.
This is about as angry as Ruud gets 👀#MMOpen pic.twitter.com/1lDDTzwmiS
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) May 2, 2025
Cerundolo held to love in the sixth game and broke his opponent in the seventh, but lost the plot in the eighth, double-faulting twice to throw away his lead.
The following three games saw no breaks of serve, with Ruud coming from 0-40 down to hold in the 11th.
Cerundolo succumbed to pressure in the 12th game and sent a backhand long to hand Norwegian the win, after having blown 11 break-point opportunities.
