May 6, (THEWILL)- Andrey Rublev produced a remarkable fightback to win his second Masters 1000 title, defeating Felix Auger-Aliassime 4-6, 7-5, 7-5 in a gripping Madrid Open final, on Sunday.
The 26-year-old Russian appeared hampered by illness early on but found his form to deny the 23-year-old Canadian his first Masters crown.
Auger-Aliassime looked set for glory after claiming the opening set, breaking Rublev’s serve twice as the Russian struggled with double faults. However, Rublev steadied himself in the second set, increasing his aggression and finding greater accuracy on his first serve to force a decider.
The third set was another tight affair until Rublev pounced at 6-5, breaking Auger-Aliassime’s serve as the Canadian tightened with two costly double faults. Rublev had trailed 4-1 in the opening set but battled through fatigue to eventually prevail after just under three hours.
“I would say this is the most proud title of my career. I didn’t sleep well the last three-four days”, admitted Rublev, who had endured a poor run of form before Madrid. Auger-Aliassime was denied a first Masters title but showed his class, even after receiving three walkovers en route to the final.
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Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
