Alexei, who's the newest Masters 1000 champion?! 🗣️ Australia’s Alexei Popyrin defeats Rublev to win the biggest title of his career in Montréal! #NBO24 @OBNMontreal
Popyrin shocks Rublev to capture his first Masters crown at Canadian Open
ATPTuesday, 13 August 2024 at 03:20
Alexei
Popyrin (No. 30) frustrated Andrey Rublev's (No. 6) ambitions and is the new
Canadian Open champion. The 25-year-old Australian had an unexpected run and
ended up taking the title with a great performance in the final, winning 6-2,
6-3, to secure his third professional title.
Without a
doubt, this is a week that will forever be etched in Popyrin's memory, as he
won his first Masters 1000. It is the most important tournament of his career,
adding to his previous two ATP 250 titles at the Singapore Open 2021 and
Croatia Open 2023.
Popyrin stuns the tennis world with Canadian Open victory
Popyrin's
campaign in Montreal has perhaps been the biggest surprise of any Masters 1000
so far in 2024. The Australian entered the tournament as World No. 62 and
defeated several favorites on his way to the final, including Ben Shelton (11th
seed), Grigor Dimitrov (7th seed), and Hubert Hurkacz (4th seed). Popyrin and
Rublev had a head-to-head record of 1-1, with their last meeting at the
Monte-Carlo Masters this year, where Popyrin defeated the defending champion in
the Round of 32.
Rublev
appeared a bit unfocused as he didn’t even win a point in his first service
game, allowing Popyrin to quickly take the lead. Taking advantage of Rublev's
constant unforced errors, Popyrin secured a second break in the 5th game, which
was enough to close out the set with his serve at 6-2.
Rublev
managed only 38% of his first serves and won just 45% of those points. In
contrast, the Australian was nearly flawless in his service games, with a 72%
first serve success rate, winning 86% of those points. Popyrin also tallied 18
winners and just 4 unforced errors, compared to Rublev's 7 winners and 9
unforced errors.
Andrey Rublev at 2024 Madrid Open.
In the
second set, things again started poorly for Rublev as Popyrin broke serve
early. The Australian advanced to a 3-1 lead before conceding his serve for the
first time in the 6th game. However, Rublev was unable to hold serve in the
following game, allowing Popyrin to regain the advantage.
With no
further surprises, Popyrin continued to dominate with aggressive play, this
time hitting 13 winners compared to Rublev's 9, while both players had 6
unforced errors. After an hour and 31 minutes of play, Popyrin emerged
victorious in a closely contested final game, sealing the win at 6-2, 6-4 to
claim the most important title of his career so far.
The
Australian will reach his highest-ever ranking as World No. 23. His next
challenge is at the Cincinnati Open, where he will face Gael Monfils (No. 46)
in the first round. If he wins, he will face Carlos Alcaraz in the second
round. As for Rublev, he has a bye in the first round as the 6th seed and will
face the winner of the match between Zhizhen Zhang (No. 44) and Giovanni
Mpetshi Perricard (No. 48).
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