‘This is the title I am most proud of,’ says Rublev after Madrid heroics
When Andrey Rublev touched down in Madrid, he had little reason to believe he would still be here two weeks later, standing with the champion’s trophy at the centre of Estadio Manolo Santana. He was on a four-match losing streak, winless over a period of six weeks, and searching for the form that earned him […]
Rublev comes back to conquer Madrid
The Mutua Madrid Open has a new king. Andrey Rublev’s name is the eleventh to grace the prestigious winners’ circle at the Spanish Masters 1000 after he beat Felix Auger-Aliassime in the Manolo Santana Stadium (4-6, 7-5, 7-5). The seventh seed needed two hours and 47 minutes to earn himself a place alongside legends such […]
Rublev v Auger-Aliassime: Final preview
When Andrey Rublev and Felix Auger-Aliassime square off on a tennis court, one can always expect a gruelling tug of war will unfold. Their most recent meeting was a two-hour 33-minute duel in the round of 16 in Rotterdam last February, in which Auger-Aliassime held three consecutive match points late in the deciding set before […]
New heights for Auger-Aliassime in the Caja Magica
The Manolo Santana Stadium drew a collective gasp when Jiri Lehecka fell to his knees on the clay and called an end to his tournament. Felix Auger-Aliassime automatically progressed to the final of the Mutua Madrid Open after the Czech’s retirement through injury following a misstep in game five of the first set, when he […]
Sabalenka v Swiatek 10.0: Preview
Before the start of this year’s Mutua Madrid Open, Aryna Sabalenka said she felt her level had dipped as of late, making way for Iga Swiatek and Elena Rybakina to form a ‘Big Two’, rather than it being a ‘Big Three’ that included her. Fast-forward two weeks and Sabalenka has firmly reestablished the ‘Big Three’ […]
Jordan Thompson vies for his fifth title of the year in Madrid
Jamie has lost his chance to emulate his brother Andy. The Murrays will not be able to add a third Mutua Madrid Open trophy to the family collection, at least not this year. The veteran team of Michael Venus and Jamie Murray were unable to shake off Sebastian Korda and Jordan Thompson, who prevailed in […]
Lehecka reaches his first semi-finals in Madrid
Jiri Lehecka claimed the last semi-final spot in the Mutua Madrid Open main draw after Daniil Medvedev withdrew injured at one set down (6-4). Félix Auger-Aliassime, Taylor Fritz and Andrey Rublev had already booked their places in the round of four and the world No. 31’s surprise run through the rounds has now produced his […]
Granollers and Zeballos, on top of the world
Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos are the No. 1 pair in the world in the live ranking after beating the twosome formed by Hugo Nys and Jan Zelinski 16-14 in a roller-coaster super tiebreak. The Spanish-Argentine duo have earned themselves a place in history by reaching the pinnacle of the rankings for the first time […]
‘Calm’ approach key to Vicente guiding Rublev to best form
After his first match at the Caja Magica this fortnight, Andrey Rublev joked that his goal for the season was to “win more than one match”. The No.7 seed arrived in Madrid carrying a four-match losing streak, winless over a stretch of six weeks. “In tennis the good thing is that one week can change […]
Fritz bids to emulate Agassi in Madrid
Very few Americans have ever set foot in the men’s semi-finals at the Mutua Madrid Open. So few, in fact, that since the tournament moved from hard court to the clay of the Caja Magica in 2009, Taylor Fritz is the first one to achieve the feat. The player from San Diego beat Argentina’s Francisco […]