Here's why Andrey Rublev 'played for the kids' in Madrid despite feeling 'dead every day' 

However, despite all the challenges, the 26-year-old Russian played through the tournament and won the title. Now, after Rublev won the title, a text on his shirt has caught attention. As there is a text, “Play for the kids” written right beneath the neck of his shirt, a journalist pointed it out and heaped praise on Rublev.

Andrey Rublev talks about his sickness in detail

Andrey Rublev also talked about the extent of his sickness after the match. The Russian tennis ace revealed that he had a sore throat which meant that he could not eat or swallow anything. Further, he also revealed that there was some inflammation in one of the fingers of his foot.

Rublev claimed that he was high on medication and had to take an anesthetic before he came to play the match. The 26-year-old said that it was like a broken finger for him.

I've been sick for eight or nine days now, it's not normal, I'm not really getting better, which is strange because usually I get sick for two or three days at the most and maybe a fever, but nothing special. This is the first time in my life that I feel this bad...They put an anesthetic in the finger on my foot because somehow it got inflamed and started to get bigger and the pressure started to be on the bone and I can't even put my shoe. Andrey Rublev revealed. (H/T: India Today)

Rublev enjoyed a great run in Madrid after what was a torrid start to the season for the Russian ace. The 26-year-old came into the tournament on the back of a four-match losing streak. However, Rublev put on some emphatic performances where he beat Carlos Alcaraz and Taylor Fritz before being crowned as the champion.