Alexei Popyrin declared his victory at the Canadian Open “means the world” after he defeated Andrey Rublev in straight sets to claim his maiden ATP 1000 title. (More Tennis News)
Popyrin won 6-2 6-4 to become the first player to win the Canadian Open title in their first main draw appearance in 17 years. The last player to do so was 24-time Grand Slam singles winner Novak Djokovic in 2003.
The 25-year-old defied the odds to beat favourite and world number six Rublev in his third defeat of a top-10 opponent in Montreal.
For the current world number 62, it was a sign that all the effort had been worth it.
"It means the world, for all the hard work I've put in over the years, all the sacrifices I have made," said Popyrin.
"Not just me, but my family, my girlfriend, my team, everybody around me. They have sacrificed their whole lives for me and for me to win this for them is just amazing."
The victory also makes Popyrin the first Australian to win a Masters 1000 since Lleyton Hewitt won Indian Wells in 2003.
He became the fourth-lowest ranked ATP Masters 1000 champion, just two weeks after being defeated by Alexander Zverev on clay courts in the round of 16 in the Olympics men’s singles.
Popyrin fared better against Rublev, who remained optimistic about his performance despite the upset.
“It's a very positive and really good week. [It’s a] really big step forward, and I feel proud of myself that I was able to be really good all the week mentally,” reflected Rublev.
“If we compare my match against him at Monte-Carlo when I was losing, I was behaving 10 times more, and it was first round.
“Here it was a final. Much more pressure. Yes, I still showed a bit emotions today, but compare 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.”
