"I'm still sick, it's not normal" - Andrey Rublev on winning Madrid Open despite being pumped 'full of medicines' to battle illness during title run

Russia's Andrey Rublev defeated Canada's Felix Auger-Aliassime on Sunday, May 5, to become the 2024 Madrid Open men's singles champion.

Rublev staged a comeback fight against Auger-Aliassime at La Caja Magica on Sunday to secure his first crown in Madrid. He began the match on a horrible note as the Canadian broke him in the first game. Rublev lost his serve again in the fifth game and couldn't save the set despite breaking Auger-Aliassime in the sixth.

The next two sets witnessed tennis discipline of the highest quality as both players remained on serve except when Rublev converted a break point in the 12th game of the second set and then at the same stage in the third to register a 4-6, 7-5, 7-5 victory over Auger-Aliassime. The summit clash notably lasted for two hours and 54 minutes.

On his path to the ATP 1000 championship, the Russian overcame some of the top names in men's tennis, including Carlos Alcaraz and Taylor Fritz. Also, it emerged during Andrey Rublev's post-match presser that he's been battling with extreme sickness and not just the opponents.

"I'm still sick, in fact, tomorrow I'm going to the hospital for full check-ups. I don't know what's going on, because I've been sick for eight or nine days, it's not normal. I haven't had any improvement," the champ said. (via Punto de Break; translated)

The World No. 6 revealed feeling discomfort he's never felt before and has relied on medicines to make it through the Madrid Open. He said:

"The most I'd been bad before was two or three days. It's the first time I've felt so bad in my life. I don't know what it is, my throat is completely blocked, it's impossible to swallow, impossible to eat and I have a headache because of it. Inside, I'm full of medicines."

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Andrey Rublev: "They have put anesthesia on my toe because they became swollen and twice as big"

Andrey Rublev

Further during the same press conference at the 2024 Madrid Open, Andrey Rublev also revealed suffering from inflammation on his toes and he played after being injected with anesthesia.

"They have put anesthesia on my toe, on my foot, because they became swollen and twice as big, so the pressure was on the bone," he said.

He continued:

"When that happens, you can't put your foot in the shoe. The feeling is similar to how much is broken. That's why they put me under anesthesia, so I wouldn't feel it."

This is Andrey Rublev's second title for the 2024 season as he won the Hong Kong Open in January.