Andrey Rublev is the 'most proud' he's ever been after defying adversity in Madrid victory | Tennis.com

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Whether he was facing Carlos Alcaraz, a mystery illness, or 14 aces from Felix Auger-Aliassime, Rublev kept calm and conquered them all.

Sometimes, when you watch Andrey Rublev play, you might wonder why he's losing his mind.

"OK, you missed a forehand, or you went down a break, or you blew an easy shot, but is that a good reason to pound yourself with your racquet until you draw blood?"

On Sunday in Madrid, though, it was a little easier to understand the Russian's mounting frustration as his final with Felix Auger-Aliassime progressed. After digging himself an early two-break hole, Rublev spent most of the last two-and-a-half sets building leads on Auger-Aliassime's service games, only to watch helplessly as the Canadian wiped them away with an ace or a service winner, or, on a couple of occasions, a groundstroke that clipped the outside of the sideline. Any player who fails to convert eight of 11 break points in such a big match would have been pleading with the tennis gods to give him a break, the way Rublev was.

Especially frustrating was the fact that, after his 1-4 start, Rublev was the better player once a rally began. He held his own serve routinely. He hammered many of his returns within a foot of the baseline. He took hard-hit balls off the short hop and reflexed winning passing shots. He exposed Auger Aliassime's shaky backhand. He won 60% of his second-serve points, while Auger-Aliassime won just 36.

Auger-Aliassime, largely on the strength of 14 aces, hung on to the bitter end of each of the last two sets. But each time, serving at 5-6, he cracked. In the second set, he made three groundstroke errors and was broken. In the third set, with the title on the line, he double-faulted twice, the second time at match point. Rublev, after all of that mounting ainxiety, was happy to accept the gift, and a 4-6, 7-5, 7-5 win for his second Masters 1000 crown.