Bouncing back: Rublev thrilled with Madrid triumph after illness & struggles

Andrey Rublev arrived at the Mutua Madrid Open on a four-match losing streak. The seventh seed flipped the script in style in the Spanish capital, where he bounced back from a difficult few months by lifting his second ATP Masters 1000 trophy on Sunday.

Reflecting on his recent form, Rublev believes highs and lows are part of the sport but is delighted to be back in the winners' circle in Madrid.

All love and respect between @AndreyRublev97 and @felixtennis 👏

We love to see it 🫶@MutuaMadridOpen | #ThisIsTennis pic.twitter.com/7ABugf1SxS

— ATP Tour (@atptour) May 5, 2024

“I think it's normal to have ups and downs because this season I started really well and I was playing amazing,” Rublev said in his post-match press conference. “Then somehow I started to do a bit worse and then a couple of weeks I could not win a match. I think this is normal to have up-and-downs and everyone go through this, so I guess my focus was not to feel if when I will go back to normal or what is normal.

“For me, it was just to keep working, to keep trying to improve, because in one moment the season is long and we have too many opportunities. In one moment I will have a chance and then as soon as I will have a chance, I will need to use it, because this week will change everything. In the end, it happened here. Now looks like clay season has been so good to me, even if the past two clay tournaments I lost first round.”

Rublev upset two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz in the quarter-finals and beat American Taylor Fritz in the semi-finals. He then defeated Felix Auger-Aliassime in the final to win his second ATP Masters 1000 title and 16th tour-level title overall.

The 26-year-old’s victory is even more impressive when he revealed that he has battled with illness all week.

“I'm still sick and tomorrow I will go to the hospital for a full check,” Rublev said. “I don't know exactly what's going on, because I have been sick already for eight, nine days and this is not normal. The same, not really improvements, which is strange, because normally all my life, if I was sick, it's two, three days, maximum. Still maybe fever but nothing special.”

Rublev is up to fifth in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin and will next head to the ATP Masters 1000 event in Rome full of confidence.

“I'm really happy. I'm really happy that I was able to perform well [in] all the matches,” Rublev said. “I think I showed a great level of tennis since the first match. In the end, I was able to win a title. And it now looks like everything, the last couple of weeks, couple of tournaments never happened. Now I guess the most important thing is to try to recover and to be 100 per cent ready for Rome.”