Rublo lifts title in Madrid

It was a second Masters 1000 title for Andrey “Rublo” Rublev at the Mutua Madrid Open. Despite illness and injury hampering him throughout the tournament, he came back from a set down to defeat Felix Auger-Aliassime 4-6, 7-5, 7-5 and lift his 16th title on tour.

Rublo – the first man to win two UTS titles, triumphing in Frankfurt in 2023 and then in Oslo in 2024 – revealed afterwards that he had been suffering from a sore throat all week as well as inflammation in a toe.

Regardless, he pushed through against the Canadian, who came into the match very fresh after three of his previous wins had come via walkover or retirement.

Rublev will be back in UTS action later this year as part of a sensational line-up for UTS New York, alongside fellow Top 10 stars Casper “The Ice Man” Ruud and Alex “The Demon” de Minaur plus French showman Gael “La Monf” Monfils