Ruud, first Norwegian to reach the final of a Masters 1,000

Casper Ruud has been established in the elite for a long time, but he still needed a great result that would endorse the great moment of form he is going through. And it has arrived this Friday in Miami. The number eight in the world imposed his favorite status against Francisco Cerúndolo and beat him 6-4, 6-1 in 54 minutes to get into the final of a Masters 1,000 for the first time. He is the first Norwegian to achieve it and awaits a rival for the fight for the title that will take place on Sunday from 7:00 p.m. It will be Carlos Alcaraz or Hubert Hurkacz.

After a hesitant start in which he lost his serve against the great revelation of the tournament, the 23-year-old Argentine who had not won an ATP match on a hard court until this tournament and was 103rd in the world (Monday will be the 51st), Ruud got the ball rolling and took the win with a 12-5 run. Francisco is the lowest-ranked quarterfinalist in the history of the tournament and although he started with a good feeling, he soon realized that I had it very difficult to beat the tennis player from the Rafa Nadal Academy and it went off until it gave way clearly in the second sleeve. No one could take away from him having played his first semifinals in an event of this category nor the rise in the ranking that will make things a little easier.

Ruud gets into the fight for the ATP Finals (he is eighth) and climbs a rung in the ranking, to seventh place, which he will occupy next week whatever he does at the Miami Open. Last Wednesday he achieved the greatest victory of his career against the number three Alexander Zverev and has already won a trophy in 2022, the one in Buenos Aires. The presence of the Norwegian in the final means that since Sunday there will have been 33 countries that will have been represented in the match for the title of a Masters 1,000. It is the tenth that Casper will play (7-2 so far), the second that is not on the ground.

Results of the Miami Masters 1,000.