National Bank Open’s Most Notable Recent Upsets

Skip to main content directly

March Madness hasn’t been exclusive to the hardwood as of late. Those who had their brackets busted early, might not have had much better luck when it came to the Miami Open presented by Itaú draw.

On the men’s side, just three of the Top 15 seeds reached at least the round of 16, headlined by world No. 36 Sebastian Korda stunning Carlos Alcaraz in round three.

The women’s draw has gone slightly more according to script, but it didn’t come without an early exit for Iga Swiatek, losing in her opening match to countrywoman Magda Linette, and ninth-seed Elina Svitolina falling to world No. 45 Hailey Baptiste in round four.

However, upsets don’t just come during the Miami Open in March. The National Bank Open presented by Rogers has had its fair share of shocks over the past few summers, and here are some of them.

Popyrin’s Canadian Success

Something truly clicked when Alexei Popyrin made his National Bank Open main-draw debut in 2024. The world No. 62, who had just two ATP 250 titles on his resumé heading into Montreal, gained an automatic place in the main draw due to a withdrawal, and he made his opportunity count.

In his first two matches, the Australian defeated Tomas Machac then stunned No. 11 seed Ben Shelton in round two, both in straight sets.

Following the pair of convincing wins, it looked as if Popyrin’s run was going to come to an end. The Aussie battled world No. 10 Grigor Dimitrov in the third round and was in some trouble after dropping the opening set. However, Popyrin stayed alive, saving three match points in the second to eventually complete the upset.

The 25-year-old came back from a set down again in the quarters against another Top 10 player in world No. 6 Hubert Hurkacz, before defeating Korda to reach the final.

Popyrin capped off his remarkable run with a maiden ATP Masters 1000 title, earning a dominant 6-2, 6-4 win over world No. 8 Andrey Rublev. The Australian became the lowest-ranked National Bank Open men’s singles champion since 1993.

In 2025, Popyrin extended his unbeaten streak at the event to nine, beating Daniil Medvedev and world No. 9 Holger Rune on his way to the quarter-finals in Toronto.

Top Seeds Stunned in 2022

The 2022 National Bank Open in Montreal wasn’t a good year to be a top-three seed. Medvedev entered as the defending champion and top seed, beginning play against Australian showman Nick Kyrgios. Medvedev won the opening set in a tiebreaker, but Kyrgios rallied to stun the world No. 1, 6-7(2), 6-4, 6-2.

Second-seed Carlos Alcaraz suffered the same fate in his opening match. The future world No. 1 battled Tommy Paul in a near three-and-a-half-hour contest, which saw the first two sets decided in a tiebreaker. In the third, Paul completed the upset for his first of two-career wins against Alcaraz, both coming on Canadian soil.

Completing the trio of shock second-round results, third-seed Stefanos Tsitsipas was ousted by British qualifier and world No. 82 Jack Draper in straight sets.

The 2022 edition became the first Masters 1000 event since Indian Wells in 1999 to see the top-three seeds eliminated in their opening matches.

Fifth-seed Andrey Rublev also lost in his first match, while No. 7 seed Jannik Sinner did get off to a winning start, but was stunned in straight sets to Pablo Carreno Busta in round three. After Sinner’s loss, the Montreal title match was guaranteed to have a maiden Masters 1000 finalist, and it was Carreno Busta who came out of the bottom half.

The Spaniard did not drop a set until the semifinals, defeating Matteo Berrettini, Rune, Sinner, and Draper on his path. Carreno Busta then beat Daniel Evans in three sets to reach the final, meeting world No. 10 Hurkacz.

The Pole was previously a perfect 5-0 in tour-level finals, but Carreno Busta put an end to Hurkacz’s flawless record, clinching the title from a set down.

Mboko’s Montreal Magic

Of course, we could not go without mentioning the Cinderella run that brought the nation to their feet. Canadian Victoria Mboko was awarded a wildcard for the 2025 National Bank Open in Montreal – her tournament debut.

The world No. 85 cruised through her opening two matches, her biggest win coming against former Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin in round two. Mboko then needed to come back from a set down to secure a victory over Marie Bouzkova in the third round.

That’s the stage of the tournament when the upsets began to roll in. Fourth-seed Mirra Andreeva lost in straights to McCartney Kessler in round three, while two-time defending champion Jessica Pegula was on the wrong end of a comeback against world No. 386 Anastasija Sevastova.

Then, in round four, Mboko earned the biggest win of her career, taking down world No. 2 Coco Gauff, and there was no stopping her from there. The Canadian cruised by Jessica Bouzas Maneiro in the quarter-finals before completing the shock comeback against No. 9 seed Elena Rybakina to make her maiden WTA final.

Naomi Osaka reached the title match by beating Clara Tauson, who defeated world No. 3 Iga Swiatek in round four, and took a quick one-set lead over Mboko. However, the resilient teen battled back to cap off her phenomenal run in Montreal, hoisting her maiden WTA trophy in just her sixth tour-level event.

The WTA's best return to Toronto next summer for the National Bank Open presented by Rogers Aug 1 to 13 at Sobeys Stadium. Get your tickets today!

The ATP's best return to Montreal next summer for the National Bank Open presented by Rogers Aug 1 to 13 at IGA Stadium. Get your tickets today!

Feature Photo: Mathieu Belanger