ATP MADRID – Andrej Rubljov (26) won the ATP Masters 1000 series tournament for the second time in his career and again on clay. The Russian tennis player did not find a conqueror in Madrid, where he arrived with a streak of four defeats. In the fight for his overall 16th title, he turned around the unfavorable development against the first Canadian in the clay 1000 final, Félix Auger-Aliassime (23), whom he defeated after a turnaround 4:6, 7:5, 7:5 and increased the lead in the head-to-head balance to 5: 1.
Auger-Aliassime – Rublev 6:4, 5:7, 5:7
Andrey Rublyov didn’t have a bad start to the season at all, but he was disqualified at the end of a dramatic semi-final against Alexander Bublik at the beginning of March in Dubai, because he shouted at the linesman and allegedly cursed at him, ending a dark period. In the next four tournaments, he suffered a streak of four defeats, while he did not even play a set against Jiří Lehečka, Tomáš Macháč, Alexei Popyrin and Brandon Nakashima.
He broke the torment only after almost two months in Madrid, where he finally did not find a savior. In ten days, he won all six matches and lost only two sets in them. Twice he turned the unfavorable development 0:1 to sets – in the quarter-finals he knocked out the domestic two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz and in the final he managed 4:6, 7:5, 7:5 with Félix Auger-Aliassim.
At the same time, Rublev did not start ideally. He lost serve twice and lost 1:4 and 0:40. He didn’t save the first set, but then he didn’t face a single break point, he often put the Canadian, who was three years younger, under pressure for a return, and at the end of the second and third sets, he was able to turn it into a key break every time.
The 26-year-old Russian won the fifth of six matches, including the fourth after a three-set fight. This year in Rotterdam even after averting match points.
Rublev won his 16th title in his 25th final overall. At the Masters 1000 event, he played in the final for the fifth time and was able to win for the second time, the first time he celebrated last year on clay in Monte Carlo. He became only the fifth active tennis player after Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Alexander Zverev and Andy Murray to win two different Masters tournaments on clay.
“I definitely didn’t expect to be able to win here when I hadn’t won a match in six weeks. I don’t want to say it’s my most valuable title, but it’s the most fought for and I’m most proud of it.” declared Rublyov, who had been battling a virus for the last few days.
“I give absolute credit to the doctors for preparing me like this. I don’t understand how they were able to get me into a state where I could play because I haven’t slept for the last three or four nights. I don’t understand how I managed it, especially after the last few weeks.” admitted the Russian tennis player.
Auger-Aliassime became the first Canadian in history to play in the Masters 1000 clay final, but he was unable to become the first Canadian winner of the event in this category. Milos Raonic and Denis Shapovalov have failed together five times in the past, always against Big Three opponents.
Auger-Aliassime, the former world No. 6 and currently the 35th player in the world, worsened his final record to 5:10. After an initial string of eight failures, he lost only the second of the last seven fights for the title.
In Madrid, three out of seven opponents made his way to the biggest final easier for him – in the third round, he lost to Jakub Menšík (right hand) at the beginning of the second set, in the quarter-finals, the sovereign Italian Jannik Sinner (right hip) did not play against him at all in recent months, and in Jiří Lehečka (back) scratched him in the seventh game of the semifinals.
Results of the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Madrid
Článek původně publikován pro Livesport Zprávy.
Tags: Rublev redeemed crisis triumph Masters Madrid dominated reversal AugerAliassime
