Casper Ruud almost immediately apologised to after clinching his first Masters 1000 title in Madrid. The Norwegian triumphed 7-5, 3-6, 6-4 on Sunday and joined the team for a post-match interview, during which he unexpectedly apologised to the runner-up and his fanbase.

star Ruud, 26, had nothing but praise for Draper and called him a "threat" on any surface following their intense two-hour and 29-minute battle. Despite acknowledging Draper's formidable form throughout the , where both finalists hadn't dropped a set en route to the final, Ruud had to tap into his greater experience on clay to secure the win.

His stellar performance not only earned him the prestigious trophy but also thwarted Draper's bid for a second Masters title in less than two months. While elated with his own success, Ruud was conscious of the disappointment felt by the British fans and offered a courteous apology for disrupting their hopes.

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"Sorry to spoil the British party here tonight, but it was, first of all, an incredible match," he said, per the . "Jack has been kind of wiping everyone on the floor here in Madrid. I knew if I didn't bring my A+ game tonight, it would be really tough. Luckily, I think I did play really well throughout the whole match."

Ruud was the underdog heading into the final as far as the rankings were concerned. However, his affinity for clay was evident - a double French Open finalist with 11 titles on the surface - but he praised his opponent's swift progress in that domain.

"I said on the podium, Jack has become now a threat on any surface," he said. "If you look at his career before Madrid, his bigger results had been on hard-court or grass.

"But now he's played so well here in Madrid and shown that he can be a threat and understand the surface. Not like he was a bad clay court player before, but he's really taken a big step."

Draper has excelled on hard surfaces in the past and was a semi-finalist in last year's . However, he lost out to eventual champion Jannik Sinner in straight sets.

There's clearly still progress to be made, considering he has exited Roland Garros in the first round in each of his appearances to date. But the Madrid Open offered the latest proof he's trending in the right direction.

"There's no holes in his clay-court game either," added Ruud. "And I think he will become more and more difficult to play here because results like this will make you better, make you believe more and have good confidence."

Ruud, who also tipped Draper to reach the very top, admitted that he put an expectation on himself to beat the Brit, given his superior experience and suitability to playing on clay.

He continued: "I was just thinking, 'I'm the clay court player here. I've played more hours on clay than him, he's obviously great, but this is kind of my surface and come on, it's time to back that up!'

"There's not much time in this sport as we know. I'll try to enjoy tonight. In Spain, they like to stay up late, so I'm sure there will be some good options. Tomorrow I'll be on the plane to Rome."