Jensi Kanabar wins title yet again

Jack Draper ousts Musetti to meet Ruud in Madrid Open final

MADRID: Britain's Jack Draper ousted Italian Lorenzo Musetti on Friday to set up a Madrid Open title showdown with Norwegian Casper Ruud who overcame a rib issue to book his final ticket. Ruud squeezed into the 25th tour-level final of his career with a 6-4, 7-5 victory over Argentine Francisco Cerundolo after a medical timeout because of chest and back discomfort. Ruud was followed into the final by Draper who battled to a 6-3, 7-6 (7/4) victory over Monte Carlo runner-up Musetti. To be back in a Masters 1000 final feels great, said Ruud. It's not every day you get to play for these titles. I've been in two finals before and lost both, so hopefully it'll be third time is a charm. The Norwegian lost both of his two previous Masters 1000 finals in 2024 Monte Carlo and 2022 Miami and will be gunning for his first title at this level on Sunday. Casper is such an experienced player, someone who has made finals of two Grand Slams, is just a complete pro, and someone who always gives his best and is so tough to beat, said Draper. He's in the final, he's playing well, and I'm going to have to bring my A-game for sure. Ruud saved a whopping 15 of 18 break points during the one-hour 54-minute clash. Overcoming early chest discomfort and in the face of a rowdy pro-Argentinian crowd, Ruud was proud of how he handled the adversity. Another good win for me against a tough player that I lost to earlier this year, so nice to get the revenge, said the 26-year-old Ruud. Ruud had to save four break points before he held serve in the opening game. At the 2-1 changeover, the Norwegian asked for a medical timeout for a sharp pain in his chest and back. Unnerved by the interruption, Cerundolo took the next two games, breaking Ruud at love to move ahead 3-2 but the Argentine's lead was short-lived as his opponent struck right back. Ruud upped the pressure in game 10 with a signature inside-out forehand and snatched the set on the 48-minute mark. The second set was a see-saw affair that witnessed a combined five breaks of serve from 18 break point opportunities. During a marathon 13-minute game, Ruud saved seven break points to hold for 3-2, but not before he had an argument with the chair umpire, over Argentinian fans disrupting him ahead of his serve. The pivotal moment came in game 12 as Ruud converted a second match point to reach his first Madrid final. 'A relief' After dropping to 15 in the world, Ruud is projected to return to the top 10 by virtue of reaching the final. I wasn't sure I was going to be able to finish the match, honestly, said the Norwegian. My physio took a look at it after and cracked my back up, which felt like a relief. Hopefully it's nothing too serious. I'll do everything we can, and I can, to feel better for tomorrow. Based on the way it felt, it shouldn't be too much to worry about for Sunday. Later on Manolo Santana stadium, Draper improved to 4-0 in career meetings with Musetti and advanced to his second Masters 1000 final of the year. I felt like both of us, our quality didn't drop from the first ball. Credit to Lorenzo, he's honestly playing so good on the clay, said Draper, winner on hard court in Indian Wells in March and set to enter the top five next week. I've played him on the hard and on the grass in the juniors, growing up with him. But on the clay he's a different beast and so, to get this win, on this court, in this stage, in the semi-finals of this competition, honestly it means so much to me. The 23-year-old lefty fired 20 winners against 19 unforced errors in a high-quality two-hour showdown with the Italian.

With help from painkillers, Casper Ruud beats Cerundolo to reach Madrid Open final against Draper

MADRID: With the help of painkillers, Casper Ruud overcame a rib ailment to defeat Francisco Cerundolo in straight sets and reach the Madrid Open final on Friday. Ruud will face Jack Draper, who beat Lorenzo Musetti 6-3, 7-6 (4) in the other semifinal to make his third final of the year. Ruud received treatment on his rib three games into the match and went on to win 6-4, 7-5 on the Caja Magica center court. The 15th-ranked Norwegian saved 15 of the 18 break points he faced against the 21st-ranked Argentine. Ruud said he felt something in his rib during the warmup, just before going out on the court. He said he felt it in nearly every shot, especially the serve. I wasn't sure I was going to be able to finish the match, honestly, Ruud said. I got a couple of painkillers, which is not the ideal thing, but at the same time in a situation like this, you have to do that now and then. It was easing and getting better as the match went on. A former world No. 2, Ruud will return to the top 10 thanks to his campaign in Madrid. He could reach No. 6 in the rankings with a win in the final. Ruud a 12-time tour champion would also become the first Norwegian to lift an ATP 1000 trophy since the series was introduced in 1990, according to the ATP. Ruud had lost two matches in a row against Cerundolo, who knocked out top-seeded Alexander Zverev earlier. Red-hot Draper The sixth-ranked Draper improved his record against 11th-ranked Musetti to 4-0. Draper won at Indian Wells in March. After his quarterfinal victory in Madrid, he secured a top-five debut in the rankings. I felt like both of us, our quality didn't really drop from the first ball, Draper said. Credit to Lorenzo, he's obviously playing so good on the clay. I played him on hard, and on grass when we were juniors, growing up with him. But on clay, he's a different beast, so to get this win on this court in this stage, semifinals, it means so much to me. Draper, who hasn't lost a set on his way to the final, said this time his mom brought him some extra luck. Seems like every match she's come to I've been terrible. So I was thinking when she said she was going to come yesterday I was like, 'Oh, I'm not sure if you should come,' he said. But no, she ended up coming, and glad she did, because tonight was a really good performance, and maybe her luck's changed when she comes to watch me play, so we'll see. Coco Gauff and top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka will meet in the women's final on Saturday.

Swiatek recovers from 0-6 start to beat Keys and set up Madrid semifinal vs. Gauff

MADRID: Iga Swiatek survived one of the weirdest matches after losing the first six games and recovering to defeat Madison Keys 0-6, 6-3, 6-2 and stay on track to defend her title at the Madrid Open on Wednesday. The second-ranked Swiatek will face Coco Gauff in the semifinals after the 21-year-old American beat teenager Mirra Andreeva in straight sets in the youngest WTA 1000 quarterfinal since 2009. Swiatek was overpowered by Keys early in their quarterfinal but eventually found a way to rally past the fifth-ranked American on center court. It was one of the weirdest matches I played, Swiatek said. Maddie was playing just perfectly at the beginning and I wasn't really proactive with anything. I let Maddie do more mistakes by just putting the ball back and the momentum changed. Swiatek said of going down 0-6 at the start of the match: At least it was fast, that's the only positive thing. It was the first meeting between the two since Swiatek squandered a match point in the semifinals of the Australian Open that was won by Keys. Swiatek is trying to reach her third straight Madrid final. She beat Aryna Sabalenka last year after losing to her in 2023. Top-ranked Sabalenka needed two tiebreakers to advance, beating Marta Kostyuk 7-6 (4), 7-6 (7). Sabalenka will face 17th-seeded Elina Svitolina for a spot in the final. Svitolina beat Moyuka Uchijima 6-2, 6-1. Gauff beats Andreeva Gauff, ranked No. 4, who got past seventh-ranked Mirra Andreeva 7-5, 6-1. Andreeva turned 18 on Tuesday. Since the introduction of the WTA 1000 tier, only the 2009 Indian Wells quarterfinal between Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Agnieszka Radwanska had a younger combined age, the WTA said. Gauff recovered after being down a break at 5-4 in the first set. She faced two set points. Off the ground I think I was dictating most of the rallies, so happy with that, Gauff said. Overall happy with everything. Both Gauff and Andreeva had been able to finish their matches in the previous round just before play was paused because of the major blackout that brought Spain and Portugal to a standstill on Monday. More than 20 matches had to be postponed at the Caja Magica tennis complex. Arnaldi keeps going Matteo Arnaldi backed up his victory over Novak Djokovic in the second round of the men's draw by defeating Frances Tiafoe 6-3, 7-5 to reach the quarterfinals of an ATP 1000 tournament for the second time. Arnaldi now has three consecutive wins against top 20 opponents for the first time in his career. The Italian will next face Jack Draper, who advanced by beating Tommy Paul 6-2, 6-2 in 68 minutes. The sixth-ranked Draper clinched his maiden ATP 1000 title in Indian Wells this year.