The Arantxa Sánchez Vicario court witnessed a barnstormer of a tie on Tuesday. What a way to cling on to a match, a tournament and a crown! Casper Ruud, the defending champion of the Mutua Madrid Open, remains alive and kicking in the Caja Magica after surviving a tremendous battle against Stefanos Tsitsipas. The duel had everything; tension, nerves, practically unbreakable serves, two match points saved, and a conclusion that shows why tennis is such a cruel yet wonderful sport. The Norwegian prevailed 7-6(4), 6-7(2), 6-7(3) to reach the quarter-finals and keep his dream of defending the Madrid title alive.
It could not have been closer. For two sets, neither player managed to break the other’s serve. Neither Ruud nor Tsitsipas could find a chink in their opponent’s armour. Just three break points in the first 28 games, a statistic that summarises better than any adjective how well both protected their serves and the extreme difficulty of causing damage on the return. Something had to be done to tip the balance.
Step up Casper Ruud. The match seemed to have slipped from his grasp in the third set. Tsitsipas was leading 5-3, a break up, and had the contest under his spell; Ruud was serving, but the Greek had earned himself two match points that would have seen him finally return to a Masters 1000 quarter-final, something he needed desperately after a particularly tough last twelve months. Now ranked 80th in the world, he was searching for a sign, a meaningful win, an open door back to the form that once made him a world number 3, Grand Slam finalist and three-time champion in Monte Carlo.
However, Ruud has his own agenda. First, he escaped a dire situation with extraordinary composure. At this point it was no longer just an exercise in survival, it was the start of a huge comeback. He broke Tsitsipas to level at five games apiece and take the match to a deciding tiebreak. There, walking a tightrope, the Norwegian was a little more solid, a little braver, and considerably more resilient. The defending champion stepped up to the mark when the tournament seemed ready to bid him farewell.
This wasn’t just any victory. Ruud arrived in Madrid with much at stake. He’s defending one thousand points from last year’s title, his first Masters 1000, and needs to reach the semi-finals to avoid dropping out of the Top 20 for the first time since May 2021. The pressure was immense. So was the historical challenge; he wants to become the first non-Spanish player to defend the title in Madrid. So far, only Rafa Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz, two giants of this tournament and this country, have managed it.
Moreover, Ruud is extending his love affair with Madrid’s clay. He now has eight consecutive victories under his belt in the Caja Magica, where last year he claimed the throne and is now clinging to it tooth and nail. Against Tsitsipas, he didn’t play his most comfortable match, nor perhaps his most brilliant but, without a doubt, it was the kind of victory on which title defences are built. His celebration befit the occasion.
For his part, Tsitsipas leaves the Caja Magica with the bitter feeling of having been so close, but with also the confidence that he can recover his best form. Ruud, meanwhile, continues with the certainty that he has dodged a bullet. Madrid still has its champion, and the champion keeps leaving his mark.
