"I'm so negative about myself, but it's the first time I feel so proud" - Andrey Rublev on overcoming "inflammation" to win Madrid Open final
Andrey Rublev has spoken up on overcoming fever and inflammation to win his maiden Madrid Open title.
Rublev came into the Madrid Open in a dire run of form. The Russian had lost four straight matches that had seen him exit several prestigious tournaments on the ATP Tour earlier than he would have liked.
At the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Rublev lost in the third round to Jiri Lehecka. Tomas Machac ousted him from the Miami Open in the second round. Next, at the Monte-Carlo Masters, where he was the defending champion, Rublev suffered another second-round loss at the hands of Alexei Popyrin. Yet another second-round defeat against Brandon Nakashima saw him exit the Barcelona Open.
The back-to-back early exits also impacted Rublev's ATP Tour ranking, as he dropped to World No. 8. However, in Madrid, the Russian looked back to his best, despite playing with fever and illness. The 26-year-old reached the final after battling past Facundo Bagnis, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, Tallon Griekspoor, Carlos Alcaraz, and Taylor Fritz.
In the final, he looked down and out as opponent Felix Auger-Aliassime won the first set 6-4. However, Rublev displayed miraculous powers of recovery to win the next two sets 7-5, 7-5, to win his first-ever Madrid Open title. The win also marked his second ATP Masters 1000 title.
Speaking with Sky Sports after tasting glory in the Spanish capital, Rublev opened up on the health issues that plagued him during the "fairytale week". The Russian revealed that apart from his fever, he also had to deal with an inflammation in his feet.
"Doctors were doing some injections (for the fever) that were.. at least I was able to go on court and then I got inflammation in my finger, on my feet, and I could not put my feet inside my shoes. So, there were doing also, anesthesia, so it was a fairytale week," Rublev told Sky Sports.
The 26-year-old also proceeded to express his pride following his Madrid Open triumph.
"I think I feel I'm so negative about myself always but it's the first time I feel so proud of myself," Rublev added.
Madrid Open triumph marks Andrey Rublev's second title this season
Rublev won the Hong Kong Open in January 2024, a tournament that took place in the build-up to the Australian Open. In Hong Kong, the Russian got the better of Liam Broady, Arthur Fils, and Shang Juncheng before making short work of Emil Ruusuvuori in the final.
The Madrid Open title, Rublev's second this season, takes his career title tally to 16. Next up for the Russian is the Italian Open in Rome, before he sets his sights on the 2024 French Open.
Rublev will be hoping to recover from his health issues before starting his Italian Open campaign. With Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner having withdrawn from the ATP Masters 1000 event in Rome, the Russian is among the favorites to triumph in the Italian capital.