Casper Ruud is into his maiden Mutua Madrid Open final after a 6-4 7-5 victory over Francisco Cerundolo.
The Norwegian progressed to his final at the Caja Magica after defeating Francisco Cerundolo in straight sets.
It was a fantastic performance from Ruud who is continuing his rankings remontada after a disappointing display in Barcelona.
Now Ruud is set for a third Masters 1000 final where he awaits either Jack Draper or Lorenzo Musetti in the final.
However, that was nearly not possible as just before the match Ruud suffered a rib injury and will have more tests tomorrow.
This is what Ruud had to say after reaching the final on the injury, “I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to finish the match, honestly,” Ruud explained to the ATP website.
“I felt something in my rib during the warm up, just towards the end before going out [on court], and I felt it in nearly every shot, especially the serve. Luckily, I got some quick treatment on it. There’s not too much you can do, you only have three minutes [with the physio]. So I will go and check it out more now.
“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. I was able to just play one game at a time really. It was easing and getting better as the match went on.”
Ruud will hope he is fit for Sunday’s final as this is his second final of the season with his first being the Dallas final where he lost to Denis Shapovalov.
The Norwegian has a 1-1 head-to-head record against Musetti while he is yet to play Draper.
