“It was a fairytale week,” Andrey Rublev proud of himself after battling illness to win maiden Madrid Open title

World No. 6 Andrey Rublev had a fever and suffered from inflammation in his feet, but that did not stop him from clinching his maiden Madrid Open title. On Sunday (May 5), the Russian defeated Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime 4-6, 7-5, 7-5 to emerge as the champion.

After the match, the 26-year-old talked about health issues during his campaign in Madrid. Despite struggling with fever and inflammation, Rublev knocked out Madrid Open favorites and grabbed the trophy after a hard-fought battle against Auger-Aliassime, who was also chasing his first title in the Spanish capital.

Doctors were doing some injections (for the fever) that were…at least I was able to go on the court, and then I got inflammation in my finger, and on my feet, and I could not put my feet inside my shoes. So, they were also doing anesthesia, so it was a fairytale week.Andrey Rublev told Sky Sports

Rublev then added that lifting the title in spite of dealing with health problems and the negative thoughts that come with it, made him proud of his achievement.

I think I feel I'm so negative about myself always, but it's the first time I feel so proud of myself. Andrey Rublev added

The World No.6 dropped just two sets en route to the title, against World No.3 Carlos Alcaraz in the quarterfinal and to Auger-Aliassime in the final.

Andrey Rublev lost four previous matches en route to Madrid Open victory

Andrey Rublev started the year with a win in the Hong Kong Open final over Emil Ruusuvuori. He then went on to reach three quarterfinals (Australian Open, ATP Rotterdam, and Qatar Open) and a semifinal at Dubai Open.

However, the Russian lost all his first-round matches in the next four tournaments. He lost to Jiri Lehecka at the Indian Wells Masters, Tomas Machac at the Miami Open, Alexei Popyrin at the Monte-Carlos Masters, and to Brandon Nakashima at the Barcelona Open.

The Madrid Open was his second ATP 1000 Masters title, previously winning the 2023 Monte Carlo Masters. He will now hope to enter the Rome Open without any problems in his body.

Rublev is one of the favorites to win the title in the Italian capital as Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner withdrew from it due to injuries while Rafael Nadal is struggling to find his form. The Russian will also try to make it to the semifinals of a Grand Slam tournament for his first title at Roland Garros.