MONTREAL/STARNBERG, August 12, 2024
Alexei Popyrin has reached his first ATP Masters 1000 final at the National Bank Open presented by Rogers in Montreal. After narrowly avoiding defeat in a tense three-set quarterfinal win against Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz earlier on a rain-interrupted Sunday, the World No. 63 from Australia managed to overcome a roller-coaster opening set against Sebastian Korda. He then dominated the US-American to secure a 7-6(0), 6-3 victory in one hour and 32 minutes.
Seize the day, Alexei 🙌@AlexeiPopyrin99 reaches his first Masters 1000 final with a 7-6 6-3 victory over Sebastian Korda at #OBN24. pic.twitter.com/UbqCF7Ev2O
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) August 12, 2024
“It means the world… it’s an amazing achievement for myself to be honest, and sometimes you have to pat yourself on the back,” said Popyrin. “I’ll do that tonight but tomorrow it’s all hands on deck and back to work.”
“It was a topsy-turvy first set with some breaks here and there. I had some points at 5-4 but played some sloppy points and didn’t convert. I just stayed mentally strong and I knew exactly what I was going to do on my next break point if I got an opportunity. “
In Monday’s final Popyrin will take on 2024 Mutua Madrid Open champion Andrey Rublev, whom he defeated in the first round of Monte-Carlo at the beginning of the clay season. The World No. 8 from Russia defeated Italian Matteo Arnaldi 6-4, 6-2 to advance to the championship match.
After a one hour, 40-minute suspension at 6-4, 1-1, Rublev returned to the court, hitting winners with ease to capture five of the final six games of the match.
Rock-solid Rublev 💪
The moment @AndreyRublev97 defeated Matteo Arnaldi to become the first ATP player to reach multiple Masters finals in 2024! #OBN24 pic.twitter.com/81ToXBKEE5
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) August 12, 2024
“The wait has been worth it. I’m happy to be in my first Canadian final.” Rublev said. “I just want to recover, rest well and be ready for tomorrow. The idea [of not going to the Olympics] was to be more ready for Canada, so if I’m in the final it means we did really well.”
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