Andrey Rublev, of Russia, right, holds his trophy after winning against Felix Auger-Aliassime, of Canada, left, in the Madrid Open men's final match in Madrid on May 5.Manu Fernandez/The Associated Press
Despite sleepless nights struggling with a fever, Andrey Rublev found a way to fight back and win the Madrid Open for the first time.
Rublev was feeling sick all week but rallied to beat Montrealer Félix Auger-Aliassime in three sets on Sunday and clinch his second Masters 1000 title.
Rublev won 4-6, 7-5, 7-5 after Auger-Aliassime double-faulted on the last point of the final at the clay-court tournament in the Spanish capital.
“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.”
Rublev gave “full credit to the doctors,” who were “doing some tricky things” just to make sure he could play.
“I have no words,” the eighth-ranked Rublev said. “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.”
The 26-year-old Russian won his first Masters 1000 title at Monte Carlo last year. Auger-Aliassime was playing in his first final at this level.
On Saturday, Iga Swiatek avenged her loss in last year’s final to Aryna Sabalenka and won the Madrid Open after a third-set tiebreaker. The top-ranked Swiatek beat No. 2 Sabalenka 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (7) for her third title of the season. The 22-year-old Polish player became the youngest player to reach 20 titles since Caroline Wozniacki in 2012.
Rublev entered Madrid on a four-match losing streak after early exits at Indian Wells, Miami, Monte Carlo and Barcelona. One of his victories in Madrid came in the quarter-finals against home-crowd favourite Carlos Alcaraz.
He now has 16 career titles, and two this season after Hong Kong in January. He had arrived with a 5-1 record against Auger-Aliassime, including a win in their sole matchup on clay.
Auger-Aliassime’s path to the final saw second-ranked Jannik Sinner withdraw because of an injury ahead of the quarter-finals, and Jiri Lehecka retired against the Canadian in the first set of the semi-finals.
Other injuries hit the men’s draw in Madrid, starting with Novak Djokovic’s withdrawal before the tournament. Daniil Medvedev retired in the quarter-finals, while Alcaraz was hampered by a sore right arm and Rafael Nadal bowed out of what was likely his last appearance in his home country.