MADRID, May 6 (Xinhua) -- Andrey Rublev won an epic final of the Madrid Open tennis tournament on Sunday evening with a win in a three-set marathon 4-6, 7-5, 7-5 that lasted almost three hours against Felix Auger-Aliassime and then admitted he had "never felt so bad" in his life.
Auger-Aliassime needed continued massages to prevent attacks of cramp in the final set, but afterwards Rublev said he had felt even worse and had almost withdrawn from the tournament several times.
"I'm not going to celebrate, tomorrow we have to go to the hospital to have some tests done," said Rublev's coach Fernando Vicente after the final.
Rublev gave more details of the problems he had suffered in Madrid. "I felt almost dead every day. I didn't sleep at night. The last three or four days I barely slept," he admitted.
"It's the first time I've felt so bad in my life. I can't swallow, my head hurts, I don't know if it's angina, a virus. I'm loaded with medications, maybe injections, pain pills," continued the Russian, who was seventh seed in Madrid.
The Madrid champion admitted he "didn't know" what was wrong with him, but explained he had been "sick for eight or nine days."
As well as feeling ill, Rublev confessed he had struggled with a foot injury and "couldn't even put [his] shoe on" without pain-killing injections in his toe, and he praised the "magicians" of the Madrid Open's medical team.
"They are the best and they did very complicated things so that I could at least play. I have to give them all the credit," he concluded. ■
