Alexei Popyrin becomes first Aussie since Lleyton Hewitt in 2003 to win an ATP Masters 1000 title
Alexei Popyrin profited from the mental fragility of Andrey Rublev on Monday as the Australian won the biggest title of his career at the ATP Montreal Masters.World number 62 Popyrin beat sixth-ranked Rublev 6-2, 6-4 in 90 minutes in the US Open tuneup, denying the Russian a second Masters crown this season after winning at Madrid.
"This means so much, it means the world," an emotional Popyrin said."All the hard work we've put in over the last couple of years has paid off." Rublev, who has boiled over several times this season on court and confessed to dealing with mental stress, got off to a poor start and took out his frustrations early through screaming, kicking a towel container and generally breaking down in tight moments.
Popyrin drove home his superiority with a double break as the seed double-faulted for a second time within minutes to lose serve. Popyrin dropped his first service game as Rublev levelled for 3-all only to give it away a game later. Popyrin won on his third match point with an unreachable winner."This is one of the few weeks where my girlfriend isn't traveling with me... and I win the tournament," he said."I hope she comes to New York now."
Pegula broke Anisimova to begin the match and again to claim the first set after 27 minutes when Anisimova double faulted.
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