Rublev finally wins again in Madrid!

Andrey Rublev, world number 8, is back on track. In desperate need of confidence for several weeks, the Moscow native won a match. At last. After 4 consecutive defeats (at Indian Wells, Miami, Monte-Carlo and Barcelona), the Monte-Carlo 2023 winner made a perfect start in Madrid.

Facing qualifier Facundo Bagnis, Rublev finally scored his first victory on ochre of the season (6-1, 6-4 in 1h29). Having played a very solid match (21 winners, 10 unforced errors, 5 aces), the 26-year-old is surely hoping to build on this success with many more to come.

The next step for the backcourt machine-gunner is a third round match against the winner of the duel between Juncheng Shang (invited by the organizers) and Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (ranked 28th in the world).

So, has the trauma of Dubai (disqualified for insulting a linesman against Bublik in the semi-final) finally been digested by the Russian?