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The 26-year-old Russian had come into the
tournament in Madrid in poor form having lost his previous four
matches on the tour but dropped only two sets en route to the
title.
"No words, if you knew what I've been through in the last nine
days, you wouldn't imagine that I would be able to win a
title... Last six weeks I was losing in the first rounds,"
Rublev said.
"I was (close to pulling out) because there were few issues I
couldn't fix, but I have to give full credit to the doctors.
They were magical and did some tricky things... Somehow I was
able to play. I've never seen this in my life.
"I would say this is the most proud title of my career. I didn't
sleep well the last three-four days."
Auger-Aliassime had moved into the final when three of his five
opponents in Madrid gave him walkovers -- including top seed
Jannik Sinner who pulled out with an injury before their
quarter-final clash.
Questions about whether the unseeded Canadian deserved to be in
the final were put to rest in the opening set when he clinically
dismantled Rublev's serve.
Rublev had the worst possible start when he was broken to love
in the first game of the match with two double faults and the
Russian quickly found himself 4-1 down as Auger-Aliassime fired
several winners.
The seventh seed fought back and managed to break Auger-Aliassime
but the Canadian was well in control by then, serving well to
make optimal use of his strong forehand before sealing the
opening set on serve with a resounding winner at the net.
But Rublev, who had eliminated second seed and home favourite
Carlos Alcaraz in the quarter-finals, was far more aggressive
with his shot-making in the second set which went with serve.
The Russian also found his range on his first serve and
constantly put Auger-Aliassime on the backfoot before clinching
the decisive break when he was up 6-5 to force a decider.
It was a case of deja vu in the final set too which went with
serve until Rublev broke again at 6-5.
Auger-Aliassime was under pressure as he served to stay in the
contest but he made two double faults, the second handing the
title to Rublev in an anti-climactic end to the final.
"Congrats to Andrey, very deserving winner. Congrats to you and
your team. I tried till the end," Auger-Aliassime said.
(Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Toby Davis) [© 2024 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
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