Addressing Rublev’s illness, he added: “It’s, like, weird, I don’t know. And then I think that, just dealing through – I mean, credit to him, as well, and like he said, the medical staff, in his speech, because I think a lot of players, there was kind of a virus maybe in Madrid, I heard, were dealing with things.”
Despite playing just three full matches and getting more rest, the four-time title winner still felt the effects of the virus in Sunday’s final. “And I think all that, even though I was lucky that I didn’t really play the quarters and semis, all that added up, came out today with the cramps,” he continued.
“I think it was physically — I haven’t cramped much in my career, so yeah, I think it was just the body being tired of, you know, fighting a virus during the week, yeah.”
