Draper beaten by Ruud in three-set Madrid Open final

Jack Draper was denied a second Masters 1000 title in as many months and first ATP tournament win on clay after losing in three sets to two-time French Open finalist Casper Ruud.

Ruud triumphed 7-5 3-6 6-4 in the Spanish capital to secure his maiden Masters 1000 title at the third attempt after going down to Carlos Alcaraz in Miami in 2022 and Stefanos Tsitsipas in Monte Carlo last year.

Draper - Indian Wells champion in March - was 5-3 up in the first set but then lost four games in a row and was visibly angry after surrendering such a strong position.

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He rallied in the second set, breaking his Norwegian opponent at 3-3 and then holding serve after facing two break points.

Both men fashioned opportunities to break early in the decider but it was Ruud who finally did so at 2-2 and, after a few nervy moments later on, he wrapped up victory by holding serve to love after a series of coruscating forehands.

Had Draper prevailed, he would have been only 25 points behind world No 4 Taylor Fritz in the official ATP rankings.

The British No 1 was already assured of leapfrogging Novak Djokovic and entering the world's top five for the first time after defeating Matteo Arnaldi in the quarter-finals in Madrid.

And despite this defeat to Ruud, he seems a strong contender for the French Open at Roland-Garros from May 25-June 8, an event at which he has lost in the first round in his previous two appearances.

Draper and Ruud will now play in next week's Italian Open in Rome, a tournament which will see the return of world No 1 Jannik Sinner following the end of his three-month ban.

An out-of-form Djokovic has withdrawn from that event, while Alcaraz will make a late call on his inclusion as he recovers from a muscle injury that ruled him out of Madrid.

More to follow.

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