Ruud Gives Commanding Performance To Begin Madrid Title Defense

Casper Ruud
Casper Ruud (photo: Mateo Villalba/MMO)

MADRID/WASHINGTON, April 25, 2026 (by Michael Dickens)

Defending champion Casper Ruud delivered a commanding performance as he began defense of his Mutua Madrid Open singles title Saturday afternoon.

Ruud won the first seven games of the second-round match against 38th-ranked Jaume Munar on Manolo Santana Stadium, jumping out to a 6-0, 1-0 lead, before the Spaniard persevered through a lengthy 20-point, seven-deuce game that stretched across 13 minutes. Munar saved four break points before finally holding his serve. It would be the only game he won all day against Ruud.

Throughout, there was clarity in the 27-year-old Ruud’s game and in his shot selection. By the end of the 65-minute match, Ruud had compiled a 6-0, 6-1 victory to advance to the third round of the ATP Masters 1000 tournament. He flashed a big smile as he walked to the net to accept congratulations from the fallen Munar, whom he has now beaten seven times in eight career meetings.

Calm and collected, Ruud saved the only break point he faced from Munar. He broke his opponent’s serve five times in 10 attempts, hit 19 winners, made just 13 unforced errors and forced 23 errors upon Munar.

“I felt very good from the first point,” Ruud said. “I’ve been here for almost a week practicing in Madrid. The fact that I couldn’t play in Barcelona just kind of increased my motivation to be back on court.

“Of course, there’s a bit of pressure playing this tournament again after what happened last year. Lot of things to lose let’s say for me this week . But I’m just trying to enjoy the moment. Not every week you can come back to a tournament to be defending champion. I’m still standing. Let’s see how long I can keep it going.”

Munar, who came in 18-47 vs. Top-20 opponents – 10-12 since the start of 2025 season – was appearing in just his 13th tour-level match of the year, after spending a portion of the year dealing with a right arm injury sustained in February. He won just 52 percent (14 of 27) of his first-serve points, hit just eight winners and made 17 unforced errors.

“Jaume, I know well,” Ruud added. “Today, I think we could see he was not 100 percent fit. He wasn’t serving at the pace he’s usually serving. He’s coming back from an upper arm injury since Rotterdam, didn’t play much the last month. Some of these things are tough with tennis. I’m his opponent and I know he’s coming back from injury. There’s no way to hide that.”

Next, the 12th-seeded Ruud will take on another Spaniard, No. 20 seed Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, in the third round on Monday. The 24th-ranked Davidovich Fokina, who was making his season debut on clay, started strongly with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over 94th-ranked wild card Pablo Carreno Busta. He needed just 67 minutes to win the all-Spanish clash on Arantxa Sanchez Stadium.

Davidovich Fokina struck 17 winners and outpointed Carreno Busta 53-39 in advancing to the Madrid third round for the fourth-straight year. The loss prevented Carreno Busta from earning back-to-back wins in Madrid for the first time.

Zverev pushed by Navone, prevails in three sets

World No. 3 Alexander Zverev of Germany, a two-time Madrid champion (2018, 2021), extended his unbeaten streak in opening rounds at Caja Magica after being pushed to the distance by 45th-ranked Mariano Navone of Argentina before prevailing 6-1, 3-6, 6-3, in one hour and 42 minutes on Manolo Santana Stadium.

Following semifinal runs at Monte-Carlo and Munich in his first two clay events of the season, Zverev overcame 30 unforced errors to 22 winners – including eight aces – to beat Navone and advance to the third round at Madrid for the ninth time in as many appearances. He’s 19-0 after winning the first set this season and his 22nd victory this season ties Carlos Alcaraz for second place after Jannik Sinner, who leads the ATP Tour with 25 wins.

“It’s definitely a different type of tournament here,” Zverev said during his on-court interview, asked to describe the high-altitude conditions that characterize the Madrid Open. “I love it. You either love it or hate it, kind of, because there is no in between. Everything is a bit faster, the ball bounces higher, the serve is maybe a bit more effective. So, you either love it or hate it. Winning the tournament twice here, of course I hope to add some more titles to that. I enjoy playing here.”

Next, Zverev will face No. 47 Terence Atmane of France, who was an upset winner over fellow Frenchman, No. 30 seed Ugo Humbert.

Around the Caja Magica

• No. 3 seed Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada, a 2024 Madrid finalist, extended his record to 13-1 in opening rounds since last August with his 6-3, 6-4 victory over 124th-ranked Lithuanian qualifier Vilius Gaubas in one hour and 21 minutes on Stadium 3. Auger-Aliassime struck 19 winners and dropped just three points on his first serve in rolling to his 18th Tour victory of the season.

Next, Auger-Aliassime will oppose No. 69 Alexander Blockx of Belgium, who rallied to upset No. 28 seed Brandon Nakashima of the United States, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, in one hour and 51 minutes on Court 4 for his sixth Tour win of the season. Blockx fired 15 aces and accumulate 33 overall winners. He outpointed Nakashima 86-79 to level their head-to-head at 1-all. 

• No. 7 seed Daniil Medvedev of Russia fought off No. 50 Fabian Marozsan of Hungary, 6-2, 6-7 (3), 6-4, in his first match since losing 6-0, 6-0, to Matteo Berrettini of Italy in his opening-round match at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters earlier this month. Medvedev outpointed Marozsan 103-83 in collecting his 20th victory of the season and advancing to the third round.

Next, Medvedev will face 140th-ranked qualifier Nicolai Budkov Kjaer of Norway, who upset No. 31 seed Denis Shapovalov of Canada, 6-2, 6-1, in 52 minutes on Court 4. The #NextGenATP start, who dropped just three points on his first serve, outpointed Shapovalov 55-25.

• No. 10 seed Flavio Cobolli of Italy was pushed to a decider against No. 57 Camilo Ugo Carabelli of Argentina before the World No. 13 from Florence pulled out a 6-7 (7), 6-1, 6-4 victory in two hours and 27 minutes on Court 4 to advance to the third round. It was Cobolli’s 15th victory of the season and he’s through to the third round in Madrid for the third-straight year.

Next, Cobolli will face 96th-ranked Paraguayan qualifier Adolfo Daniel Vallejo, who upset No. 17 seed Learner Tien of the United States, 6-4, 6-3, in one hour and 19 minutes on Court 5. It was Vallejo’s first victory against against a Top-50 foe. He finished with 18 winners and outpointed Tien 68-57 to become the first player from Paraguay to reach the third round of an ATP Masters 1000 event.

• No. 13 seed Karen Khachanov of Russia eased past No. 117 Adam Walton of Australia, 6-2, 6-3, in 79 minutes on Stadium 3 to move into the third round for the fourth-straight year. It was Khachanov’s first win on clay this season, after bowing in the opening rounds at both Monte-Carlo and Barcelona the past two weeks. Khachanov saved all three break points he faced and outpointed Walton 69-50.

Next, Khachanov will oppose No. 23 seed Jakub Mensik of Czechia, who eliminated 126th-ranked qualifier Martin Damm of the United States, 6-3, 6-4, in 66 minutes on Court 4 for his 16th victory of the season. Mensik hit 24 winners and made only five unforced errors. He outpointed Damm 59-45.

• No. 16 seed Francisco Cerundolo of Argentina set up a third-round meeting with 18th seed Luciano Darderi of Italy after both won their respective second-round matches Saturday afternoon.

Cerundolo handled 60th-ranked Yannick Hanfmann of Germany, 6-1, 7-5, in one hour and 40 minutes on Court 5, while Darderi defeated Cerundolo’s younger brother, No. 67 Juan Manuel Cerundolo, 6-1, 6-3, in one hour and 18 minutes on Court 5.

• No. 26 seed Corentin Moutet of France fell to 102nd-ranked Spanish qualifier Daniel Merida, 6-3, 6-4, in one hour and 51 minutes on Stadium 3. Merida broke Moutet’s serve three times in 12 opportunities and outpointed him 83-71. It was Merida’s first Top-30 victory of his career.

Next, Merida will face either No. 8 seed Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan or No. 80 Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece, who played later Saturday night, in the third round.

• No. 30 seed Ugo Humbert was upset by No. 47 Terence Atmane, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (5), in two hours and 16 minutes in an all-French battle on Court 5. Atmane, who evened his tour-level win-loss record at 9-9, hit 24 winners and benefited from 49 unforced errors by Humbert.

Next, Atmane will oppose No. 2 seed Alexander Zverev of Germany, who eliminated No. 45 Mariano Navone of Argentina.

 

Saturday’s Madrid Open results

Sunday’s Madrid Open order of play

By the numbers

Casper Ruud has the most ATP Tour wins on clay since the start of the 2020 season with 133. Second is Carlos Alcaraz with 108 and third is Alexander Zverev with 102.

“Quotable …”

“It’s a brutal sport. I just tried to take my advantage of [Jaume] and play heavy, play as solid and as I could and got a lot of returns in. With the altitude in Madrid, if you don’t serve well, it’s hard to dominate the points.”

– Defending champion Casper Ruud of Norway, during his on-court interview after losing just one game against Jaume Munar during his second-round victory on Saturday.

 

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