Ailing Rublev defies fever & odds to win

Madrid, May 6

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 Felix 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 claycourt 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.

“They put an anaesthetic 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. The feeling was similar to when you broke it, so they put an anaesthetic and I could play without thinking,” said Rublev. — Agencies