A stunning victory to clinch a second master 1,000 title. Opposed to the Canadian Félix Auger-Aliassime in the final of the Madrid masters, the Russian Andrey Rublev won 4-6, 7-5, 7-5 in almost three hours. The highest ranked player in the last four, Rublev nevertheless suffered four consecutive defeats upon his arrival in the Spanish capital.
After his disqualification in Dubai at the beginning of March for shouting his anger a few centimeters from a line judge’s face, he won a match (in Indian Wells), then nothing. Neither in Miami, nor in Monte-Carlo, where he was the title holder, nor in Barcelona. With his Madrid coronation, he will climb to sixth in the world on Monday, one place from his best ranking, reached in September 2021.