Andrey Rublev won the Madrid Open on Sunday with a hard-fought 4-6, 7-5, 7-5 victory over Felix Auger-Aliassime to secure his second title of the year, despite battling a suspected virus.
The Russian world No. 8 said he was “almost dead every day” and could barely sleep this week after securing a career second Masters 1000 victory. Rublev had lost four consecutive matches before arriving in the Spanish capital, but came from a set down to beat his Canadian opponent.
The 26-year-old triumphed at the Hong Kong Open in January, but struggled since before turning his form around in Madrid, dropping just one set on the way to what proved a tense final.
Photo: Reuters
“I think it was an incredible match, Felix deserved [in] the same way as me to win today and we showed a great battle together. I think the most important thing was that the people enjoyed it,” Rublev said on court. “Our sport is like this, we cannot have both winners.”
Rublev, who takes the Madrid crown from double champion Carlos Alcaraz, who he beat in the quarter-finals, said he had played despite feeling ill at times this week and hailed his doctors for helping him through.
“If you knew what I had been through in the past nine days you would not imagine that I would be able to win a title,” he said. “I was almost dead every day, I was not sleeping at night — the last three, four days I didn’t sleep.”
“I’m still sick and tomorrow I think I’ll go back to the hospital for a full check-up to know exactly what’s going on,” Rublev said.
The seventh seed added that he had needed an anesthetic to play the final.
“They put an anesthetic in the finger on my foot, because somehow it got inflamed and started to get bigger and the pressure started to be on the bone and I can’t even put my shoe,” he said. “The feeling was similar to when you broke it, so they put an anesthetic so I me to don’t feel it and at least I could play without thinking.”
Auger-Aliassime started superbly by breaking to love in the first game and then again in the fifth game for a 4-1 lead.
Rublev recovered a break when Auger-Aliassime went long, and consolidated for a 4-3 deficit.
The Russian saved a set point to hold for 5-4 down, but Auger-Aliassime clinched it at the second opportunity with a forehand down the line.
In the second set, the Canadian held for 3-3 with a brilliant drop shot after Rublev spurned a break point.
They stayed on serve until the 12th game when Rublev brought up two set points, converting the second to take it to a deciding third set.
Rublev raced through his service games and put heavy pressure on his opponent’s serve, forcing a break point in the second game and two more in the fourth, none of which he could take.
Auger-Aliassime produced huge serves to fight his way out of tough spots, racking up 14 aces in the match to Rublev’s seven.
However, Rublev dropped just three points on his serve in the third set, while Auger-Aliassime trailed in all of his service games but always battled back, until the decisive 12th game.
Auger-Aliassime double-faulted to hand Rublev the title, with the Russian falling to the floor in delight.
Additional reporting by Reuters
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