Ruud beats Cerundolo in straight sets to reach Madrid Open title showdown, Sabalenka advances

Casper Ruud squeezed into the 25th tour-level final of his career with a 6-4, 7-5 victory over Argentina’s Francisco Cerundolo at the Madrid Open on Friday.

The Norwegian saved a whopping 15 of 18 break points faced during the one-hour 54-minute clash to reach a third Masters 1000 final, and first since Monte Carlo last year.

Overcoming early chest discomfort and in the face of a rowdy pro-Argentinian crowd, Ruud was proud of how he handled the adversity.

“There’s a lot of things to deal with as a player. It’s a lot of fun, of course, travelling the world and living this life is like a dream, don’t get me wrong. But of course you have struggles all along, almost every single week you’re dealing with some kind of minor pain or fatigue or stress somehow,” 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 and told the trainer he felt a sharp pain in his chest while warming up with the medicine ball before the match, and it extended all the way to his back.

Ruud received treatment and took painkillers before stepping back on court.

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.

“Too good, huh. Good luck,” Cerundolo told Ruud at the net.

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.

“I felt something in my rib during warm-up, just towards the end, before going out and I felt it on almost every shot, especially the serve. And luckily I got some quick treatment on it. Of course I’ll go and check it out more now. I took a couple of painkillers, which is not ideal but in a situation like this, you have to do that every now and then.”

Sabalenka downs Svitolina: World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka continued her mastery with a 6-3, 7-5 semi-final victory over No. 17 seed Elina Svitolina .

Sabalenka needed 1 hour and 32 minutes to hold off Svitolina, ending the Ukrainian’s undefeated clay-court run this year. Coming into Thursday’s match, Svitolina had gone 9-0 on clay at WTA events in 2025 (18-0 in sets), but Sabalenka put a stop to that streak.

Saturday’s final at this year’s first WTA 1000 clay-court event will pit Sabalenka against No. 4 seed Coco Gauff. Gauff dismissed defending champion Iga Swiatek 6-1, 6-1 in just 64 minutes earlier on Thursday.

Gauff has a narrow 5-4 lead over Sabalenka in their head-to-head. Gauff won their only prior clay-court meeting at 2021 Rome, and the American also won their most recent meeting, at the 2024 WTA Finals Riyadh, reported WTA.

Sabalenka has been the dominant force at the Mutua Madrid Open this decade. She is now 22-4 lifetime at the tournament, winning the title in 2021 and 2023, and reaching another final last year.

Additionally, Sabalenka is now firmly ensconced as the tour leader in match-wins this year. By beating Svitolina, Sabalenka became the first player to obtain 30 main-draw wins at WTA events in 2025.

Agencies