Best Tennis Reviews: 05/02/25

Friday, May 2, 2025

🇬🇧 Jack Draper

🌪️ Madrid dominance: Dropped just 4 games vs Arnaldi in the QF (6-0, 6-4), didn’t face a single breakpoint.
🚀 Altitude advantage: Madrid’s fast, high-bouncing clay suits Draper’s explosive serve and clean ball-striking.
🔥 Flawless run: Wins over Griekspoor, Berrettini, Paul, and Arnaldi—all in straight sets.
🏆 Masters breakthrough: Won Indian Wells earlier this year, defeating Alcaraz and Rune in the final two rounds.
📈 Ranking surge: Set to pass Novak Djokovic and rise to No. 5 in the world if he reaches the final.

🇮🇹 Lorenzo Musetti

🎨 Clay-court artist: In top form this clay swing—defeated Tsitsipas and De Minaur in both Monte Carlo and Madrid.
⛓️ Set-free progress: Into the Madrid semis without dropping a set.
🧱 Mental and physical upgrade: Showing greater resilience and aggression compared to past clay campaigns.
⏫ Top-10 debut locked in: Will be the sixth Italian ever to reach the ATP top 10 next week.
🧠 Confidence rising: Led Alcaraz by a set in Monte Carlo final—momentum clearly building.

🇦🇷 Francisco Cerúndolo

💪 Gritty quarterfinal win: Overcame Miami Masters champion Jakub Mensik in a hard-fought three-set battle.
📈 Peak consistency: Leads the ATP Tour in match wins this season (24), underlining his rise as one of 2025’s most reliable performers.
🎯 Madrid milestone: First semifinal here, avoiding back-to-back QF exits and bettering his 2024 run.
🏆 Eyes on the prize: Still chasing his maiden Masters 1000 title—his only previous semifinal ended in defeat to Ruud (Miami 2022).
🔄 Top-20 resilience: Faced top-20 opponents 10 times in 2025, winning 5—proof he belongs at this level.

🇳🇴 Casper Ruud

🚨 Statement win: Dispatched world No. 4 Daniil Medvedev in straight sets to reach the semifinals, improving to 8–4 vs top-10 players since 2024.
🧱 Quarterfinal perfection: Now 7–0 in clay-court Masters QFs—one of the most reliable players at this stage on this surface.
🤕 Semifinal hurdle: Just 1–5 in Masters clay semifinals. His only win came against Novak Djokovic in Monte Carlo (2024).
📉 Ranking rebound: Disappointing results in Monte Carlo and Barcelona saw him fall to No. 15, but he's now within one win of rejoining the top 10.
🔁 Experience edge: A proven big-stage competitor with three Grand Slam finals and four Masters 1000 finals to his name.