Félix Auger-Aliassime can leave Madrid with his head held high after a three-set defeat in the final to Andrey Rublev.
The Quebecer was the victim of a double fault which ended the match with a score of 4-6, 7-5 and 7-5 in favor of the Russian who won his second tournament in the Masters 1000 series.
In pain to end the match, Auger-Aliassime offered excellent opposition to the eighth racket in the world. The result was certainly painful for the Quebecer who lost during his first participation in a Masters 1000 series tournament. The spectators were treated to many hotly contested points in a duel which required 2 hours 48 minutes of play.
“I want to congratulate Rublev and his entire team, it is very deserved,” said Auger-Aliassime into the microphone on the field during the trophy presentation. I’m sorry for maybe making you think too much about the fact that I was in trouble. You are a great player and we have a lot of fun on the circuit together. »
The Quebecer offered his rival’s service on two occasions during the initial round to take control of the match.
Both players carefully held their serve during the second set. Auger-Aliassime also had the task of pushing the set to a tiebreaker, but Rublev won in the 12th game to force a final set.
Auger-Aliassime needed to erase two break points in the fourth game of the third set. Trailing 3-2, he called on the trainer for treatment on his thigh. FAA made some splendid shots on his serve to stay in the lead, but his opponent offered him nothing in return, easily winning his games with his serve. The scenario of the second set repeated itself when Rublev recorded the final break of serve following Auger-Aliassime’s fifth double fault of the match.
The Quebecer distinguished himself with 36 winning shots against 25 for Rublev in the match.
Author of three of the five breaks on Sunday, Rublev has won five of his six matches against the Quebecer during his career.
One of these victories was acquired earlier this season, in Rotterdam. Rublev arrived in the Spanish capital having lost four consecutive ATP tournaments.
After a victory over Casper Ruud in the round of 16, Auger-Aliassime saw Jannik Sinner withdraw before the start of their clash and Jiri Lehecka retire during the first set of their semi-final match in order to participate in the final.
