Alexei Popyrin became the first Australian in over two decades to win a Masters 1000 title as he swept past world No. 6 Andrey Rublev in the Canadian Open final. The Australian only needed an hour and a half to overcome the Russian, whose temper continued to boil over, 6-2 6-4. Popyrin was a surprise winner of his biggest title to date, defeating five top-20 players en route to the trophy.
Popyrin needed just 90 minutes to sweep past the volatile Russian 6-2 6-4 to win his maiden ATP Masters 1000 trophy and just the third title of his career.
The Australian was ranked 62nd in the world before this week but will rise to 23rd after a blistering run through the draw, taking out five top-20 players.
“It means so much, it means the world,” an emotional Popyrin said.
“All the hard work that I’ve put in over the last few years. All the sacrifices that I’ve made, not just me but my family, my girlfriend, my team, everybody around me.
“They’ve just sacrificed their lives for me and for me to win this for them is just amazing.”
The 25-year-old beat seventh seed Grigor Dimitrov, 11th seed and rising star Ben Shelton, huge-serving fourth seed Hubert Hurkacz, and Seb Korda, winner of the Washington title last week, to reach the final.
Rublev had taken out top seed Jannik Sinner in the quarter-finals and was aiming for a second Masters title of the year after winning the Madrid Open in May, but could not find an answer against an inspired Popyrin.
