Casper RUUD

The following year, he did break his ATP Tour duck at the Argentinian Open in Buenos Aires, beating Pedro Sousa in straight sets in the final.

The following year was a superb one for Ruud as he won five ATP 250 titles - all on clay - to become the highest-ranked Norwegian in history. In April 2022, he reached his first Masters 1000 final at Indian Wells but fell in straight sets to Carlos Alcaraz. And then two months later, he went all the way to the French Open final but had little chance against Rafael Nadal who secured a record 14th Roland-Garros triumph.

Showing his adaptability away from clay, Ruud made the US Open final later that year but again found Alcaraz too good. However, his exploits saw him go to number two in the world.

In 2023, he won just one title as he beat old doubles partner Kecmanovic in the final of the Estoril Open. He then beat Olympic champion Alexander Zverev in straight sets to reach a second French Open final, but Novak Djokovic swept him aside in straight sets. After beating the world number one at the 2024 Monte-Carlo Masters, Ruud lost to Stefanos Tsitsipas for his fifth consecutive final defeat. He ended that run by beating the Greek to claim the Barcelona Open title.