Trailing after the first set, the Russian raised his level of play on Sunday to finally win on the Madrid ocher after 2h49.
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The coronation of a new king of Spain. Andrey Rublev offered himself his first title in Madrid, Sunday May 5, at the end of a particularly close final against the 35th in the world, Félix Auger-Aliassime (4-6, 7-5, 7-5). This is his second Masters 1000 title after his victory in Monte-Carlo last season.
However, the affair seemed to be off to a bad start given the start of the match played briskly by the Canadian, surely a little fresher after having reached this stage of the tournament taking advantage of three withdrawals, including that of the number 1 seed Jannik Sinner. Borrowed, the world number 8 dropped his throw twice, jeopardizing his chances of taking the lead at the end of the first set (4-6).
Led on the court by Manolo Santana as well as against the double title holder Carlos Alcaraz, the Russian started the machine in the second set. While “FAA” held on thanks to an excellent service (14 aces), Andrey Rublev found the resources to equalize without going to the tie-break (7-5). Before continuing his momentum in the decisive round. More sure of his shots and facing an opponent forced to have his thigh massaged at each change of sides, the native of Moscow concluded after 2h49 of play, with a double fault from Auger-Aliassime as a ball. match (7-5).
The end of the desert crossing for Rublev
A 16th career trophy felt like redemption for Rublev, two months after his “crackdown” in Dubai, where he was disqualified in the semi-finals for having lost his nerve by insulting a linesman in his native language. Since this UAE episode, the right-hander seemed lost. Before Madrid, he had only won once in four tournaments but had mainly conceded losses against players ranked between 32nd and 87th ATP ranks.
This end of the desert crossing comes at the best of times for him, three weeks before Roland-Garros. This could be the opportunity to break his glass ceiling, as he remains on 10 defeats in as many Grand Slam quarter-finals played in his career.
