Jack Draper is one match away from claiming a second Masters 1000 title in two months after reaching the final of the Madrid Open on Friday.

Draper, who will overtake Novak Djokovic and make his top-five debut on Monday, is still yet to drop a set in the Spanish capital as he defeated Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti 6-3 7-6 (7-4) in the semi-finals.

The British No 1 will take on Casper Ruud in Sunday’s final after the Norwegian beat Francisco Cerundolo 6-4 7-5 despite struggling with a rib injury before the match.

Draper’s rapid rise to the very top of the men’s game kicked off with the Indian Wells title in March and has accelerated on clay, which has been considered his weakest surface.

Ruud awaits in Sunday’s final

Ruud showed his class under pressure to overcome Cerundolo to reach the final.

World No 15 Ruud, who ousted Taylor Fritz and Daniil Medvedev in the previous rounds, saved 15 of 18 break points he faced, including seven in a marathon 14-minute game in the second set, to make it through to his third Masters 1000 final.

“I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to finish the match, honestly. I felt something in my rib during the warmup, just towards the end before going out (on court),” Ruud said.

“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.”

Ruud said he had a couple of painkillers and started feeling better once the adrenaline kicked in.

“Hopefully it’s nothing too bad, it was quite sharp,” Ruud added. “Not an ideal start, but I managed to keep it together and play some really good tennis when I had to.”

Sunday will be Ruud’s 18th final on clay, with only Novak Djokovic among the active players who have reached more finals (34) on the surface.

Tale of the Tape

Fleming: Experience saw Ruud go through

Colin Fleming, speaking on Sky Sports Tennis: “It was a scrappy match in terms of sustained quality. It was dramatic and I understand it was the most break points Casper Ruud has faced in a best-of-three-set match and Cerundolo can’t say he didn’t have his chances, so maybe he’ll regret some of those. Ultimately, there’s a big prize on the line this weekend and I think you could almost taste that as those two were going at it and maybe it was just the experience that saw Ruud go through.”

Coco Gauff and top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka will meet in the women’s final on Saturday – live on Sky Sports Tennis from 5.30pm.

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