Ruud met 18-year-old Spanish great Carlos Alcaraz from 19.00 Norwegian time. The two finalists really did best in the gravel.

– I didn’t think that if I reached the Masters1000 final, it would be here in Miami. I thrive on the conditions and how the course is. “It’s very slow compared to other hard courts (surface courts), so it fits my game well,” Ruud said at Friday’s press conference.

In Miami, Ruud has secured the biggest scalp of his career. It happened in the quarter-finals, where he defeated Alexander Zverev. The German is fourth in the ATP rankings and last year won summer Olympic gold in hardcourt tennis by beating world number one Novak Djokovic en route to the final.

Ruud can achieve the biggest win of his career by winning the entire tournament. Alcaraz’s latest opponent was one of the world’s greatest tennis talents and came close to reaching the final at Indian Wells in March. Then he reached an even semi-final against Rafael Nadal himself.

Alcaraz and Ruud had met once before. It happened at the ATP 250 tournament at the gravel in Marbella about a year ago. Then Ruud lost in a straight line against his opponent who was five years his junior.

– He played a very good match. I barely had a chance to beat him, so I was hoping for revenge, Ruud said of Alcaraz.

The final winner gets a cash prize of over NOK 10 million. The loser gets about half.