The Russian world number eight said he was "almost dead every day". He could barely sleep during the week-long tournament in Spain. It was his second Masters 1000 victory.

Rublev came from a set down to defeat his Canadian opponent, having lost four matches in a row before arriving in the Spanish capital. The 26-year-old had won the Hong Kong Open in January,but had struggled since then. In Madrid, however, he overcame that to win by dropping just one set en route to a tense final.

"I think it was an incredible match. Felix deserved to win today as much as I did and we put up a great fight together. I think the most important thing was that the crowd enjoyed it," Rublev said on court. "That's how we play, you can't have both of us winning."

Rublev, who takes the crown in Madrid from two-time champion Carlos Alcaraz, whom he beat in the quarter-finals. Rublev admitted that he played despite feeling unwell at times and praised his doctors for helping him. "You wouldn't think I could win a title if you knew what I went through in the last nine days," he said. "I was almost dead every day, I didn't sleep at night, the last three, four days I didn't sleep."

Auger-Aliassime reached the final after his semi-final opponent Jiri Lehecka retired with an injury. His quarter-final opponent Jannik Sinner withdrew with a hip injury. Injuries have certainly been the story of the last few weeks. However, the 23-year-old Canadian, ranked 35th in the world, gave it his all in his first Masters 1000 final.

The match between Rublev and Auger-Aliassime was tense and close. Rublev broke back when Auger-Aliassime dropped a break and went 4-3 up. The Russian saved a set point to make it 5-4, but Auger-Aliassime broke at the second opportunity with a forehand down the line. In the second set, after Rublev had saved a break point, the Canadian held at 3-3 with a brilliant drop shot. 

They stayed on serve until the twelfth game, when Rublev had two set points, the second of which he converted to take the match to a decisive third set. Auger-Aliassime produced huge serves to get himself out of trouble. He hit 14 aces in the match to Rublev's seven.

However, Rublev dropped just three points on serve in the third set, while Auger-Aliassime trailed in every service game, but fought back until the decisive twelfth game. Auger-Aliassime double-faulted to give Rublev the title and the Russian fell to the floor in celebration. 

Rublev is going to see the doctors to get a full analysis to try and find out what's causing the physical discomfort that's preventing him from feeling well. However, they haven't been able to slow him down. After the Hong Kong Open, the Madrid Open is his second title of the year so far.