Ruud captured the biggest win of his career as he upset world No 1 Djokovic 6-4 1-6 6-4 to reach his second ATP Masters 1000 final and first since 2022.
The Norwegian had never won a set off Djokovic in the pair’s previous five meetings, but he clubbed 23 winners to outlast the Serbian in a thrilling contest to set up a final date with Stefanos Tsitsipas, who has earlier shocked second seed Jannik Sinner.
Eighth seed Ruud held his nerve, however, as five unforced errors from Djokovic allowed him to go 3-0 up in the decider before he calmly closed out the victory.
“I am super happy,” Ruud said. “This is a day I will remember for a long time. Beating a world No 1 is something I have never done and beating Novak is something I have never done. I am very, very happy. I am a little bit in a state of shock right now.
“I was up in the third and he came back, typical how good these guys are under pressure. And I was thinking please don’t let this slip away and 0-40 in the last game, it is not done.
“When he missed the first serve [at 30-40], he saved so many break points in crazy ways, with huge second serves. I prayed one time, let it be a double fault and something above listened and of course it was unfortunate to end the match with a double fault but for me it was nice to see that ball sail long.”
