The Russian tennis player’s words after winning the final against Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime was shocking.
On Sunday in Madrid, Rublev won the second Masters 1000 title of his career, following his win at Monte Carlo 2023, by defeating Felix Auger-Aliassime in the third set. In a press conference, the Russian tennis player admitted he played the entire tournament in poor physical condition.
“I am still sick, and I think I will go to the hospital tomorrow for a full check-up. I don’t know exactly what’s going on, because I’ve been feeling sick for eight or nine days, and this isn’t normal. There are no improvements, which is strange, because normally I am sick for only two or three days at most. Maybe still fever but nothing special. This is the first time in my life I’ve felt this ill,” Rublev said, according to Eurosport.
Tomorrow we will find out exactly what it is, perhaps it’s angina. A virus where the throat is completely blocked. And so for nine days I have been unable to swallow or eat, and I have an incredible headache because of it. I won the tournament because I got injections that kill the pain. So two or three hours without pain. Inside I am full of medication.”
On inflammation
“They did a kind of anesthesia on my toes because somehow they get inflamed and start to swell up to twice their size and all the pressure starts to be on the bone, and when you have pressure on the bone you can’t even put your feet inside the shoe. It feels like it’s broken. That’s why they did the anesthesia, so I wouldn’t feel it. And at least I was able to play without thinking about it,” Rublev said.
On the tournament
“I am really happy that I was able to play well in all the matches, and I think I showed a very high level of tennis right from the start. In the end, I managed to win a title. And now it seems like the past two weeks, those tournaments, never happened. Now I believe the most important thing is to try to recover and be 100% ready for Rome,” the Russian player concluded.
