Alexei Popyrin has burst into the world’s top 30 and looks set for seeding at the US Open after recording the biggest triumph of his career and earning a seven-figure payday by taking out the Montreal Masters in Canada.
The 25-year-old, who made the final 16 in singles at the Paris Olympics and was playing in his maiden ATP Masters 1000 final, recorded a barnstorming straight-sets victory against world No.6 Andrey Rublev to take the $1.6m winner’s cheque and jump to 23 in the world rankings, a career-high.
It ended a 21-year drought for Australian men in Masters 1000 events. The last man to win one was Lleyton Hewitt at Indian Wells in 2003.
Popyrin burst out of the blocks and took the opening set 6-2. He held a 3-1 lead in the second before the Russian responded to level things at 3-3.
The Australian then broke Rublev’s serve to regain the ascendancy, swiftly moving to 5-3 and holding his nerve to serve out the match in a tense final game, needing three match points before recording an emotional 6-2 6-4 win in just under 90 minutes.
Popyrin has become a giant killer, with the win over Rublev a fifth straight against an opponent in the top 20 and a third top-10 scalp for the Montreal event.
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