Ruud beats Draper 7-5 3-6 6-4
Ruud, a three-time Grand Slam finalist, wins ATP Masters event for first time
It is Norwegian Ruud's 12th title on clay
Draper, 23, was aiming for first clay-court title of his career
Draper v Ruud
Tough one to call this.
Draper has been the better player over the fortnight.
Ruud has been the better clay-courter over his career.
What are you saying?
Hit the thumb up for Draper. The thumb down for Ruud.
Draper v Ruud
Draper v Ruud
Duh-duh-duh. Duh-duh-duh. The DJ presses play and the unmistakable intro of 'Eye of the Tiger' booms out.
Rocky Balboa and Apollo Creed... sorry, Casper Ruud and Jack Draper line up in the Caja Magica tunnel.
Then it's the turn of the MC - basically the Spanish Michael Buffer - to take centre stage.
He introduces the pair in his unmistakeable style - high volume, rolling Rs - to Court Manolo Santana.
Draper v Ruud
Jack Draper, meanwhile, has found a quiet spot in the warm-up area.
There, he sits on a weights bench and leans in close to coach James Trotman.
The pair look calm and clear-minded as they run through a few of the key messages which they want Draper to implement on court.
The two finalists will be walking out into the Madrid sun shortly...
Draper v Ruud
The atmosphere is bubbling nicely at the Caja Magica.
The punters are filing back in, with many having taken a breather after the women's doubles finals.
The sun is out and the roof is wide open.
The volume on the PA system is turned up to the max. It's that loud you can hear probably hear it in Barcelona.
Draper v Ruud
Casper Ruud certainly knows his way around a clay court.
The 26-year-old Norwegian has twice reached the French Open final, losing to Rafael Nadal in 2022 and Novak Djokovic in 2023 (no shame there).
His numbers on the ATP Tour are very impressive.
Since the start of the 2020 season, Ruud has chalked up the most clay-court wins (124), finals (17) and titles (11).
However, he has never won an ATP Masters title - on any surface.
Draper v Ruud
Image source, Getty ImagesJack Draper has breezed through the Madrid Open draw so far.
I say breezed, no match has been easy of course. But he hasn't dropped a set yet.
Draper is a different beast these days. He plays with confidence, authority, swagger and has a fear factor about him now.
But will that be enough to win the Madrid title?
Draper has a tough opponent standing between him and a first ATP clay-court triumph...
Draper v Ruud
Hola! How are we all doing this sport-tastic Bank Holiday Sunday? You've made the right choice by choosing the tennis, I promise.
Jack Draper - a Brit! - is about to play in the Madrid Open final.
Yep, you heard it right.
The 23-year-old leftie is on a crest of a wave. After winning his first ATP Masters title at Indian Wells, the world number six is bidding for another less than two months later.
This time it would be on a clay court in the Spanish capital.
For so long there has been a regular complaint among British tennis fans.
Why are the British players (Andy Murray apart, of course) not able to have much success on clay?
The main reason is that the red dirt is not the natural surface for youngsters in this country, like it is for their Spanish, French, Czech or South American counterparts.
Success has been rare. Then again, Jack Draper is a rare talent...
Image source, Getty Images