Australia’s Alexei Popyrin, the No 62-ranked player in the world, upset fifth-seeded Andrey Rublev of Russia 6-2 6-4 at the Canadian Open to win the biggest singles title of his career.
Popyrin had two lower-level ATP Tour titles on his resume coming into a week in which he faced five top-20 players in a row in Montreal – and defeated all of them.
First came No 11 seed Ben Shelton in the second round, then No 7 seed Grigor Dimitrov, a contest in which he saved three match points. In the quarterfinals came No 4 seed Hubert Hurkacz, who was up a set and a break in the second before Popyrin came back to win 7-5 in the third set.
Then American Sebastian Korda, who won the tournament in Washington, D.C., last week and was on a nine-match winning streak, in the semi-finals late Sunday night.
And finally Rublev, who was looking for his third career ATP Masters 1000 title, his first on hard courts. But he had no answers against a player with whom he often trains at their mutual home base in Monte Carlo.
“I played a really, really high level of tennis, which I believed that I could play my whole life. But to put it into five matches in a row against – I mean, six matches in a row against really high-quality opponents is something else,” Popyrin said.
Once it was over, Popyrin put his hands to his face and let the tears flow.
Popyrin won the first seven points of the match and from there, the hill was just too steep to climb for Rublev, who moves from No 8 to No 6 in the rankings with a week that included a win over world No 1 Jannik Sinner.
Popyrin will rise in the rankings from 62nd to 23rd, providing him with a major boost ahead of the US Open later this month.
As with Rublev, whose on-court emotions have often held back his career progress, Popyrin had been known more for his temper on the court than his game.
On Monday night, he was cool, calm and collected.
Rublev wasn’t as serene, but was at least happy with his progress on that front.
“Even today, because if we go back even one month ago – or even compare my match against (Popyrin) at Monte Carlo (in April) when I was losing, I was behaving 10 times (worse) – and it was the first round,” he said.
“Here, it was a final. Much more pressure. Yes, I still showed a bit emotions today, but compared to the matches when I was losing the same way, I think I did much better job. That’s why I had a little chance in the second set, but it was just not my time, I guess.”
Pegula beats Anisimova to retain title
Jessica Pegula, the No 3 seed and the sixth-ranked WTA Tour player, defended her Canadian Open title by defeating Amanda Anisimova 6-3 2-6 6-1 in Monday’s all-American final.
Pegula won last year’s Canadian Open in Montreal and improved her all-time record at the tournament to 17-2 by picking up where she left off in Toronto to claim the sixth title of her career.
“So excited to be here with the trophy again,” she said. “I really wanted this one. I know everyone’s talking about my record and all this stuff, but it’s nice to be able to get through the week and to back it up.”
Jessica Pegula retained her Canadian Open title in Toronto
Pegula is the first woman to repeat at Canada’s showcase event since Martina Hingis in 2000.
Anisimova, who entered the week ranked No 132 in the world as she continues her comeback after stepping away from the game for a mental health break, beat three top-20 players in Toronto, including No 3 Aryna Sabalenka in the quarter-finals.
“Really thought I had it there after the second set, but she really stepped it up,” said Anisimova, who will wake up on Tuesday at No 49 in the rankings. “She was playing some amazing tennis. It was a very, very difficult match.
Monday’s match marked just the second time the final of a WTA 1000 event – one step below the sport’s four Grand Slams – has featured two Americans since the format was first introduced in 2009, with the only other instance coming in 2016 when Serena Williams defeated Madison Keys in Rome.
Pegula, who improved to 3-0 against Anisimova after also topping her on clay earlier this season, beat Liudmila Samsonova in last year’s final.
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