“Hard work always pays off!” said Alexei Popyrin, who could barely contain his excitement after his 7-6(0), 6-3 win over Sebastian Korda in the semifinals of the National Bank Open presented by Rogers on Sunday.
The two rivals actually have a lot in common. They’re both 24 years old and are both 6’5”. They each hold two ATP titles and are determined to secure a spot in the Top 10.
Korda sits at No.18 and Popyrin at No.62, but that’s about to change since, later this week, the Australian will move up to No.30 or to No.23 if he wins the tournament—two potential rankings that better reflect how hardworking he is.
Two games make the difference
The 92-minute match was decided over two consecutive games. The shaky first set, which was marked by so many break points, was settled by tiebreak. Popyrin didn’t let his opponent win any points (7-0) and gave himself a wave of confidence he rode straight to the end.
In the first game of the second set, Popyrin secured the break on a ball that rolled over the net before dropping into play and never looked back. He won another break at 5-3 and sealed the deal.
In the end, Alexei Popyrin won 83% of points when his first serve was in play, considerably more than Korda’s 66% success rate.
Korda and Popyrin are now 1-1 in their head-to-head.
Can Popyrin’s high spirits withstand Andrey Rublev’s the sledgehammer blows in tomorrow’ final? Tune in to find out!
Andrey Rublev cruises into the final
No.5 seed Andrey Rublev had never gone past the third round of the National Bank Open presented by Rogers. But that was the old Rublev.
The Rublev who’s spending the week at IGA Stadium in Montréal is more self-confident and in full command of his neutralizing power and accuracy. This evening, he gave his opponent Matteo Arnaldi a 78-minute masterclass in control that ended with a final score of 6-4, 6-2.
Rublev hit 16 winners and only 10 unforced errors, while Arnaldi managed 10 winners and 13 unforced errors. The total points worked out to 60 for Rublev and 45 for Arnaldi.
Despite the intruding wind, the more formidable Rublev honed in on the targets that suited him, while the 23-year-old Italian struggled.
READ: Rublev finally getting some wins in Canada
The World No.8, who holds 16 ATP titles including two Masters 1000 crowns (Monaco 2023 and Madrid 2024), is now on a mission to secure his first major hard court championship and even feels ready to go all the way at a Slam after getting as far as the quarters of all four events.
Start strong, finish strong
In the opening set, Rublev broke Arnaldi and never looked back.
Then, after a lengthy rain delay, he was even more dominant in the second set, breaking his unnerved opponent not once but twice. He hit four aces and one double fault (two aces and one double fault for Arnaldi).
Rublev also mastered his service game, giving up only one break on which Arnaldi couldn’t capitalize and making the most of all three he was offered.
An unprecedented Monday final
There’s no tournament like the National Bank Open presented by Rogers. And on Monday, it will feature an unexpected 7:30 p.m. final that pits no.5 seed Andrey Rublev against the unseeded Alexei Popyrin.
Both players have earned their place in the final. Rublev toppled the World No.1 Jannik Sinner, as well as Matteo Arnaldi, Brandon Nakashima and Tomas Martin Etcheverry.
As for Popyrin, he disposed of Tomas Machac, Ben Shelton, Grigor Dimitrov, Hubert Hurkacz and Sebastian Korda. He played one match more than Rublev since he didn’t benefit from the same first-round bye.
Different paths
To date, Rublev’s career remains the most illustrious of the two. As a junior, he won the 2015 ITF Masters and 2014 Roland-Garros. And in 2021, he took home the Davis Cup and ATP Cup.
There are 16 ATP winner’s crowns in his trophy case (9 ATP 250, 5 ATP 500, 2 Masters 1000) and 9 runner-up prizes, including Monaco, Shanghai and Cincinnati. He’s also reached the quarters of all four Slams.
When he’s feeling confident, this boxer’s son can dismantle any opponent.
Popyrin, on the other hand, has a more modest record.
The Australian, who turned 25 just last week, has spent his career training in Spain, which explains the consistency of his game. He won junior Roland-Garros in 2017 and two ATP 250 titles (Singapore and Umag). The current No.62, who’s risen as high as No.40, is guaranteed to ascend to No.33 and to No.20 if he wins the tournament.
He and Rublev and are 1-1. Rublev won in Vienna in 2023, and Popyrin stopped Rublev from defending his title in Monte Carlo earlier this year.
But first, doubles
The evening session gets underway at 5 p.m. with the doubles final, as top seeds Marcel Granollers (Spain) and Horacio Zeballos (Argentina) battle no.3 seeds Rajeev Ram (USA) and Joe Salisbury (UK).
Korda drives out Zverev
On Sunday afternoon, Sebastian Korda of the US advanced to the semifinals of the National Bank Open presented by Rogers with a win over no.2 seed Alexander Zverev of Germany (7-6 (5), 1-6, 6-4).
And the onus is on Zverev. As soon as the match got underway, he asserted his dominance and quickly forged a 3-0 lead but wasn’t immune to a few surprise errors and ill-timed double faults. Korda soon caught up, took the set to a tiebreak and won.
In the second set, Zverev came out of the gate like a new man. He’d found his serve and the accuracy of his groundstrokes and got the job done in a flash.
Reversal of fortune
Tennis matches aren’t over until they’re over. In the third set, Korda found his game as Zverev gradually lost sight of his. The young American broke at 4-4 and then served for the match.
The stats only tell half the story, and it can be eye opening to look at when players make their costliest mistakes and most brilliant shots.
Zverev was broken only twice but at the worse times. In the first set, the break forced him to play a tiebreak he ended up losing. And then in the third, the break gave Korda a 5-4 lead.
Meanwhile, Korda was broken four times at the start of the match and in the second set, when breaks had less of an impact on the final result. Even Zverev’s 99 points (92 for Korda) weren’t much of a factor.
Even more importantly, Zverev hit 11 double faults.
Popyrin sends Hurkacz home
After two drawn-out three-set matches the day before, no.4 seed Hubert Hurkacz of Poland couldn’t produce a miracle on Sunday afternoon. On Rogers Court, he fell to 24-year-old Australian Alexei Popyrin (3-6, 7-6 (5), 7-5) at the outcome of a nearly three-hour match (2:48).
With increasingly high winds blowing around the court, the players exchanged a mind-boggling 31 break points. Popyrin staved off 17 of 20, and Hurkacz countered 8 of 11.
In the end, it was Popyrin’s 24 aces that made the difference.
Popyrin and Korda face off on Sunday night to wrap up the session.
Featured photo by: Patrice Bériault
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