Andrey Rublev defeats Felix Auger-Aliassime to win Madrid Open title

Andrey Rublev defeated Felix Auger-Aliassime 4-6 7-5 7-5 in the final of the Madrid Open on Sunday, winning his second Masters 1000 title.

Auger-Aliassime was chasing his first Masters title and appeared to be on his way to victory until a resurgent Rublev, who had been suffering from a fever throughout the tournament, recovered to win in just under three hours.

The 26-year-old Russian entered the tournament in Madrid in poor form, having lost his previous four matches on the tour, but dropped only two sets on the way to victory.

"No words, if you knew what I've been through in the last nine days, you wouldn't imagine that I would be able to win a title... Last six weeks I was losing in the first rounds," Rublev said.

"I was (close to pulling out) because there were few issues I couldn't fix, but I have to give full credit to the doctors. They were magical and did some tricky things... Somehow I was able to play. I've never seen this in my life."

"I would say this is the most proud title of my career. I didn't sleep well the last three-four days."

Auger-Aliassime advanced to the final after three of his five opponents in Madrid gave him a walkover, including top seed Jannik Sinner, who withdrew with an injury before their quarterfinal match.

Questions about whether the unseeded Canadian deserved to be in the final were answered in the first set, when he clinically dismantled Rublev's serve.

Rublev got off to the worst possible start, being broken to love in the first game of the match with two double faults, and the Russian quickly fell behind 4-1 as Auger-Aliassime fired several winners.

The seventh seed fought back and broke Auger-Aliassime, but the Canadian was already in command, serving well to make the most of his strong forehand before sealing the first set on serve with a resounding winner at the net.

But Rublev, who had eliminated second seed and home favourite Carlos Alcaraz in the quarterfinals, was far more aggressive with his shot-making in the second set, which was played on serve.

The Russian also found his range on his first serve, constantly putting Auger-Aliassime on the back foot before clinching the decisive break at 6-5 to force a decider.

It was a case of deja vu in the final set, which went serve until Rublev broke again at 6-5.

"Congrats to Andrey, very deserving winner. Congrats to you and your team. I tried till the end," Auger-Aliassime said.

SportsLigue