Andrey Rublev overcame a virus to capture his second Masters 1000 title at the Mutua Madrid Open, with a 4-6 7-5 7-5 comeback victory against Felix Auger-Aliassime.
The 26-year-old, who triumphed in Monte-Carlo in 2023, arrived in the Spanish capital off the back of a four-match losing streak.
However, the seventh seed played close to his best to reach the final and then dug deep in the title match to earn the biggest win of his year after two hours and 47 minutes.
“I have no words. 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,” said Rublev, who struggled with a fever at times during the tournament. “I’m incredibly happy. That one week changed everything because now it looks like I was not losing the last weeks in the first round!
“I have to give full credit to the doctors. They were doing some tricky things and I was able to at least be able to play.”
Rublev, who defeated second seed Carlos Alcaraz in the quarter-finals before he battled past Taylor Fritz to reach the final, had the worst possible start when he was broken to love in the first game of the match with two double faults and the Russian quickly found himself 4-1 down as Auger-Aliassime fired several winners.
The seventh seed fought back and managed to break Auger-Aliassime but the Canadian was well in control by then, serving well to make optimal use of his strong forehand before sealing the opening set on serve with a resounding winner at the net.
But Rublev, who had eliminated second seed and home favourite Carlos Alcaraz in the quarter-finals, was far more aggressive with his shot-making in the second set which went with serve.
The Russian also found his range on his first serve and constantly put Auger-Aliassime on the backfoot before clinching the decisive break when he was up 6-5 to force a decider.
It was a case of deja vu in the final set too which went with serve until Rublev broke again at 6-5.
Auger-Aliassime was under pressure as he served to stay in the contest but he made two double faults, the second handing the title to Rublev in an anti-climactic end to the final.
“I would say this is the most proud title of my career,” Rublev said. “I was almost dead every day. I was not sleeping at night. The last three, four days I didn’t sleep.”
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