Madrid Open 2024: Andrey Rublev vs Felix Auger-Aliassime; Preview, Head-to-Head, Prediction

Hold your breath for a moment! After having gone through a series of action-packed matches, fans are now all set for a high-voltage clash on the final day of the 2024 Madrid Open. Andrey Rublev (8) takes on Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime at the iconic Manolo Santana Stadium on Sunday (May 5). Andrey Rublev is in red-hot form this year, and he has already tasted a title triumph in Hong Kong earlier this season. He will look forward to repeating the same in Madrid.

While Auger-Aliassime has nothing to worry about as the Goddess of Fortune, Tyche seems to have currently teamed up with the Canadian! Felix Auger-Aliassime has already witnessed three walkovers by his opponents on his way to the finals. It started with Jakub Mensik in the R32, and then Jannik Sinner had to withdraw from his QF match against Auger-Aliassime due to a hip injury. Then in the semis, Jiri Lehecka faced a similar fate! However, in between all these, he managed to clinch an emphatic victory over the in-form Casper Ruud in the R16. Will yet again fortune favor the brave?

Andrey Rublev vs Felix Auger-Aliassime: Preview

Well, Auger-Aliassime must be brave against Rublev right from the word go to stand a chance against the Russian. This will be Andrey Rublev’s second final this season and he has already reached three QFs and one SF this season. But in the last four tournaments, he has struggled a bit with his form. Rublev was in fact in a four-match losing streak before entering the Madrid event. However, in Madrid, he overcame some stiff challenges to book a spot in the finals of the tournament.

In his previous match, Rublev defeated America’s Taylor Fritz by 6-4,6-3. The Russian tennis star hit five aces and committed only three double faults in the entire match. His numbers with the first serve win percentage (83%) were more impressive than that on his second serve (50%). Andrey Rublev converted three out of his six break points in that match. Looking at Rublev’s record for this season, he has hit a total of 189 aces and committed 40 double faults in 2024. He has won 91% of his service games so far! Quite astonishing isn’t it?

So, service games are going to play a major role in Andrey Rublev’s match against FAA! On the other hand, Felix Auger-Aliassime has reached one SF and one QF in his previous tournaments this year. The 23-year-old Canadian has now reached his maiden ATP Masters 1000 championship match! He surely would love to make it count to the fullest on Super Sunday. How has been his journey so far? “It’s crazy. I don’t know if it’s ever happened to a player before,” Auger-Aliassime on the successive walkovers during his matches in this tournament.

He faced the Czech tennis star, Jiri Lehecka in the SF match. Lehecka had previously withdrawn from the previous two clay court tournaments this year due to a right vertebrae issue. Even in this match, he was seen clutching his lower back in pain during the sixth game with the scoreline poised at 3-3. He was forced to withdraw from the SF clash. But in this short span, FAA hit five aces and had a first-serve win percentage of 100%! Although half of his matches (3 out of 6) saw his opponents withdraw from the match. But his performance against the no.6 in the R16 will provide him a boost in his confidence before facing yet another Top 10 opponent.

Rublev vs Auger-Aliassime: Head-to-Head

Both of them have faced each other five times previously in their careers. Interestingly, four out of the five times their matches have gone into a third set to decide the ultimate winner. They had first met each other in Umag where Andrey Rublev beat the Canadian by 6-4,6(4)-7,6-3. Their next meeting was in Adelaide, where yet again Rublev had the last laugh. However, in the SF of the ATP Rotterdam in 2022, Felix Auger-Aliassime defeated Rublev by 6(5)-7,6-4,6-2. In the same year, the Russian took his revenge by defeating him in the finals in Marseille by 7-5,7-6(4).

Andrey Rublev and Felix Auger-Aliassime last met each other this year at the Rotterdam tournament. In that event, it yet again took Rublev three sets to defeat the Canadian tennis star. In that match, Felix Auger-Aliassime hit a staggering twenty aces compared to just five by Andrey Rublev. His first serve win percentage was 80% as compared to only 68% by the Russian. However, on the second serve, Andrey Rublev had an edge over FAA. Who will have the edge this time around when they will yet face each other this year in Madrid?

Prediction: Rublev to win yet again by a three-set thriller

Andrey Rublev is a proven player on this surface. He won the 2014 French Open singles title in his junior career and has also reached the QF of the French Open in 2020 and 2022. His lethal serve and forehand will be put to the test against a familiar opponent on this surface. While Felix Auger-Aliassime will be high in confidence entering into this high-octane clash. Regardless of the result on Sunday, Auger-Aliassime will have a significant jump in the latest PIF ATP Live Rankings on Monday.

He has already jumped up to 15 spots to become the number 20 in the list and he can rise up to 17th in the men’s singles rankings if he wins the final on Sunday. Andrey Rublev will be looking forward to knocking out his opponent with his big forehand but putting a check on his unforced errors will be a crucial thing to look at in his game on Sunday. It’s gonna be Felix Auger-Aliassime’s all-court game versus the offensive baseline style of Rublev! Rublev has a win-loss record of 15-8 this season while FAA has a record of 11-10.

So, looking at these stats, current form, and results from their previous tournaments- surely Andrey Rublev will be the favorite to win this contest in Madrid.