Australian Alexei Popyrin wins Montreal Masters 1000, defeats Andrey Rublev in straight sets

He’s done it! Alexei Popyrin has won the Montreal Masters 1000 title over Andrey Rublev (6-2, 6-4).

Popyrin took the title on his third match point and has been dubbed the “Master of Montreal” by the commentators.

He’s the first Aussie to win this particular title since Pat Rafter did so at his peak in 1998.

Let’s not overlook the magnitude of what Popyrin has achieved in Montreal this week after representing Australia at the Paris Olympics.

Not only did he beat a highly fancied opponent in the final – Andrey Rublev went into the match as the world No.6 – this is his fifth consecutive win against a player in the world’s top 20.

His path to the final included wins over Seb Korda, Ben Shelton, Grigor Dimitrov and Hubert Hurkacz.

That is a huge win for Alexei Popyrin’s career – easily the biggest so far, and it puts him alongside three luminaries of Australian tennis.

Rod Laver, Ken Rosewall and Pat Rafter are the three other Australians who’ve won this Montreal title. While Lleyton Hewitt (Indian Wells in 2002, 2003), Mark Philippoussis (Indian Wells in 1999) and Rafter (Canada and Cincinnati, both in 1998) are the only Australians to win a prestigious Masters1000 title win.

But it’s also a boon for Popyrin’s his bank balance.

As winner of the Montreal Masters 1000, he pockets a cool $US1,049,460. When we put those numbers through our super-computer, the currency conversion means he collects a total just shy of $1.6 million Australian.

Now that’s good bank!

Alexei Popyrin was humble and quietly spoken in his brief interview immediately after claiming the title. But his pride was evident.

“It means so much, it means the world,” he said.

“All the hard work that I’ve put in over the last few years, [and] all the sacrifices I’ve made - not just me, but my family, my girlfriend, my team, everybody around me. They’ve just sacrificed their whole lives for me, and for me to win this for them is just amazing.”

Popyrin got the advantage and pushed hard on that championship point, but just pushed it too long.

He won the next point and is again serving for the title.

It’s 30-all. That was a gruelling point. Both players slugged it out in a tense rally from the back of the court. Eventually, it was Popyrin’s whose nerves broke, and he sent a forehand wide.