Andrey Rublev was expected to win the Canadian Open final against Alexei Popyrin, but things didn’t go as planned.
He felt confident after beating Jannik Sinner, who had a leg injury in their match. Rublev also spoke about his struggles with depression and how it affects his emotions on the court.
Popyrin’s journey to the final was tough; he beat several strong players like Tomas Machac, Ben Shelton, Grigor Dimitrov, Alexander Zverev, and Sebastian Korda.
Unexpected Turn of Events:
No one saw the first set coming. Popyrin dominated completely, leaving Montreal’s crowd in shock. Rublev lost his serve right at the start after four quick points from Popyrin’s powerful forehands.
| Name | Age | Points | Stats 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🇷🇺 Andrey Rublev | 26 | 4,710 | 24 - 10 |
Rublev had a chance to fight back at 1-2 but missed two break points as Popyrin served three aces to escape trouble. Things got worse when Rublev lost another game, allowing Popyrin to take the first set 6-2 easily.
Fans might think this is an unexpected twist for such a favorite player.
Rublev hoped for a better second set but got broken again in the opening game. He tried hard in games five and six, holding serve from 1-3 down to avoid a double break.
Popyrin then made his first mistake by double-faulting on break point, giving Rublev hope and energizing the crowd for a possible comeback.
But then Rublev handed control back with three unforced errors in a row and lost his serve again after another strong return from Popyrin.
There was no recovery for Rublev after that. Popyrin closed out the match with a 6-2, 6-4 win to claim his first Masters-1000 title and third overall trophy.
Despite this loss, Rublev can find some positives from reaching the final in Montreal. He needs to quickly move past this disappointment and use it as motivation for future matches.
What do you think about this surprising result?
