Andrey Rublev talks about a real ordeal at the start of the tournament after his victory in Madrid. Several illnesses are causing the Russian to struggle
On his way to his second Masters title on the ATP Tour, Andrey Rublev had to overcome some unusual obstacles in the run-up to the tournament in Madrid. After his final victory over Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime (4:6, 7:5, 7:5), the Russian reported a virus and an injury.
“I’m lost for words,” said Rublev in his interview on court. “If you knew what I’ve been through in the last nine days, you couldn’t have imagined that I could win a title,” the 26-year-old told Sky.
Rublev had to eat baby food
“At the start of the tournament I had to go to hospital, possibly with a virus or something like that. Half my throat was completely blocked. And the first few days I couldn’t eat because it was burning, so I had to eat baby food. It was a disaster. Then I got an infection in my feet, which affected my bones. I couldn’t put my feet in my shoes,” the Russian recalled with horror of the first few days in Madrid.
“The week was like a bad fairytale for me. I’m always so negative about myself, but now I’m really proud,” he continued.
Rublev succeeds Alcaraz
Rublev triumphed for the first time last year in Monte Carlo, also on clay, at one of the nine tournaments in the highly lucrative series.
Rublev follows Carlos Alcaraz (Spain) in the list of winners – he had beaten the two-time tournament winner in the quarter-finals. After his 16th ATP title, Rublev climbed two places to sixth in the rankings on Monday and also closed the gap to Alexander Zverev in fifth place
