Masters 1000 Shake-Up: Casper Ruud's Madrid Open title marks rare milestone after 34 years

Casper Ruud's triumph at the Madrid Open marked a unique event on the ATP Tour after 34 years, amidst a period of renewal in the men's circuit. The Norwegian defeated Jack Draper 7-5, 3-6, 6-4 and claimed his first Masters 1000 title, leaving behind two previous final losses in this category.

The new world No. 7 becomes the third tennis player to open their Masters 1000 title count this year, with only four tournaments of this category played so far. He joins the achievement of Draper himself at Indian Wells and Jakub Mensik at the Miami Open. The only champion this year who already had titles in the category was Carlos Alcaraz, who lifted his 6th Masters 1000 title at the Monte-Carlo Masters.

This had not occurred in the first four events since 1991, when the "Championship Series," equivalent to the current Masters 1000 format, were played. Those who achieved their first title that year were Jim Courier (Indian Wells), Sergi Bruguera (Monte-Carlo), and Karel Novacek (Hamburg).

Since the birth of the Masters 1000 tournaments – and their equivalents – the category has been dominated by the Big-3 (Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, and Rafael Nadal), as well as other prominent players such as Andre Agassi, Andy Murray, and Pete Sampras. The top 6 champions alone accumulate the incredible sum of 146 Masters 1000 titles, almost half of the 299 Masters tournaments that have been played.

Indian Wells: Jack Draper d. Holger Rune - 6-2, 6-2

Miami Open: Jakub Mensik d. Novak Djokovic - 7-6, 7-6

Monte-Carlo Masters: Carlos Alcaraz d. Lorenzo Musetti – 3-6, 6-1, 6-0

Madrid Open: Casper Ruud d. Jack Draper - 7-5, 3-6, 6-4