Andrey Rublev rallies, then outlasts, Felix Auger-Aliassime to win Madrid title

A day after the Mutua Madrid Open women's final between world No. 1 Iga Swiatek and world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka lasted more than three hours and finished in a final-set tiebreak, the men's final—which featured two comparatively surprise finalists, Felix Auger-Aliassime and Andrey Rublev—nearly followed suit. At the end of two hours and 48 minutes of play, it was seventh-seeded Rublev who walked away from the Caja Mágica with his second career ATP Masters 1000 crown behind a 4-6, 7-5, 7-5 victory.

Unseeded, but resurgent, former world No. 6 Auger-Aliassime had an abridged road to his first career Masters 1000 final, receiving two retirements and a walkover—the latter from No. 1 seed and Australian Open champion Jannik Sinner—to reach the final. And to start the match, it looked as though, perhaps, he had the upper hand physically once more. The Canadian raced out to a 4-1 lead against a subdued Rublev, who double-faulted on the first two points of the match.

After the match, Rublev revealed that this was not part of a playing strategy. He had been, in fact, close to withdrawing from the tournament earlier in the fortnight, as he struggled with illness and, later, inflammation in one of his fingers.

"If you knew what I've been through the last nine days, you would not imagine that I would be able to win a title," Rublev said. "One week changes everything. I was losing the last six weeks in the first round.

"I was [close to withdrawing], because there was a few issues I couldn't fix, but I have to give full credit to the doctors. They're magical. What they were doing ... somehow, I was able at least to play. They're the best so far, all the tour, that I had."

But, just like his health during the week, the tide slowly turned for Rublev against Auger-Aliassime. As the match time continued to rise, so did Rublev's energy, and when his opportunity came in the second set, he pounced. The first 11 games passed by with little threat to either man's serve—Auger-Aliassime saved the only break point either faced, in the sixth game—but there was no such escape for the Canadian in the 12th.

In the third set, the Canadian needed to stave off sustained pressure from Rublev, and betrayal by his own body. He received medical attention on two consecutive changeovers, though he did not receive an official medical timeout, and saved the first five break points he faced: two in a 12-minute opening service game, two more down 2-1, and another in the eighth game.

But he couldn't save a sixth. At 30-30 in the 12th game, Auger-Aliassime struck a backhand long to close a long rally, unable to match the relentless attack by Rublev from the back of the court. Then, he double-faulted, attacking a second serve that missed well wide, to hand Rublev the title.

Rublev had entered Madrid on a four-match losing streak, and hadn't won back-to-back matches since his controversial default from the semifinals at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships on March 1.