Ruud reaches Madrid semi-finals with straight-sets win over Medvedev
The Norwegian is into the semi-finals of the Mutua Madrid Open
Casper Ruud (Laurent Lairys/PSNewz)
Casper Ruud got his first-ever win over Daniil Medvedev, beating him 6-3, 7-5 to reach the semi-final of the Mutua Madrid Open.
Medvedev had won all three of their previous meetings, but they had not faced each other since 2021.
And on his favourite surface, the Norwegian improved his record even further, with 123 match wins on clay since the start of 2020 to make his 40th tour-level semi-final – 30 of which have been on the terre battue.
In fact, he is the first man born in 1990 or later to reach 30 tour-level semi-finals on clay.
“I looked at our stats last night and saw he beat me on grass, outdoor hard and indoor hard,” stated Ruud.
“The last surface was clay so I thought ‘Please don’t make it 4-0’. I tried to use the surface to my advantage. I thought the level was pretty good from both players, I was impressed with Daniil’s ability to produce power here on clay.
”Today it felt like he was decisive and firing from the forehand, he hit some great winners. He didn’t bring what I expected.”
I tried to use the surface to my advantage
The Norwegian failed to defend his title in Barcelona and – as a result – dropped out of the world’s top 10. Now up to the 12th spot in the live rankings, Ruud is just one win away from returning to the elite 10.
“I came here after a tough defeat in Barcelona,” admitted the three-time Grand Slam finalist.
“I worked a little bit with myself and especially the mental aspect. I think I am coming into the tournaments with a better version of myself. I’ve been playing with good intensity [in Madrid] and I would like to keep it going. There has been a fire missing lately, so I am happy to bring it here in Madrid.”
Medvedev misses out on becoming the fifth man after the Big Four to complete the set of ATP Masters 1000 semi-finals.
