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What an incredible week it has been for Australian Alexei Popyrin. The week before he turned 25 and has awarded himself quite a superb belated birthday gift … he won the biggest title of his career, the Canadian Open, which is also his first career ATP Masters 1000 title.
Popyrin defeated Andrey Rublev in one hour 29 minutes 6-2, 6-4 for his third career title and he won it on his third championship point when Rublev sent a forehand wide. Popyrin's racquet fell out of his hand as both arms were raised and his hands covered his elated face as he dropped to the court with excitement.
"It means so much, it means the world," Popyrin said. "All the hard work I've put in over the last few years, all the sacrifices I've made; not just me (but) my family, my girlfriend and my team and everybody around me you know, they've just sacrificed their whole lives for me, and for me to win this for them is just amazing."
Popyrin pretty much set the scene of what was to come with the start of the match. He won the first seven points before scoring an early break as Andrey began getting frustrated. Twice Rublev was broken in the first set and on both occasions he double faulted. There was only one stage of the final that he had a bit of a look-in. He broke Popyrin's serve to level the second set at 3-3 but Alexei broke again immediately.
At no stage of the final was Rublev ever ahead and on championship point three Popyrin's forehand had Rublev scrambling and a forehand from Rublev went wide leaving Popyrin to celebrate.
The Australian's forehand dominated the final and his serve was very potent.
When Alexei played Grigor Dimitrov having already defeated Ben Shelton earlier in the tournament, he saved three match points. He then followed up that win by beating Hubi Hurkacz and Sebi Korda who was on an eight match win streak having won Washington from the week before, and finished things off with the Rublev victory.
"I just focused on what I had to do after the two match points, and I had to make a first serve to put the pressure on, but I don't remember what happened, if I made the first serve or not, I think I did, and hit a pretty solid forehand," Popyrin said. "That was my thought process through the whole tournament. When I saved the three match points (against Dimitrov), I kinda looked at them as break points, not match points, and focused on what I had to do with my serve and came through."
Alexei Popyrin joins a few other illustrious Australians to win the Canadian Open, the likes of Rod Laver, John Newcombe and Pat Rafter who was the last in 1998. He is also the first Australian, and just the fourth ever, to win a Masters 1000 joining Rafter, Mark Philippoussis and Lleyton Hewitt who was the last one to do so in 2003.
The Canadian Open marked the first time Alexei has made a Masters 1000 final and he's only the third active Aussie player to reach such a final joining Nick Kyrgios and Alex De Minaur who was runner-up at the same event last year when it was staged in Toronto.
The doubles title was won by Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos who defeated Neal Skupski and Olympic silver medallist Rajeev Ram 6-2, 7-6.
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