Alexei Popyrin from Australia pulled off one of the biggest upsets in Masters history when he won the final in Montreal against Andrey Rublev on Monday. During the tournament, Popyrin secured five victories against top 20 players, a feat that hasn't happened on the tour since 2022.

Popyrin's powerful serve and aggressive baseline play were key to his victory against the fifth-seeded Rublev in the final. Fittingly, he sealed the match point with his devastating forehand, and after one and a half hours of play, he claimed the victory with a score of 6-2, 6-4. The 25-year-old from Sydney thus secured Australia's first Masters singles title since Lleyton Hewitt won in Indian Wells in 2003.

Ranked 62nd, Popyrin also became the fourth lowest-ranked winner of a Masters tournament on the ATP tour (since 1990). However, Popyrin is not the lowest-ranked winner in Montreal. In 1993, the 95th-ranked Swede Mikael Pernfors won the tournament after defeating world No. 2 Jim Courier in the round of 16 and Todd Martin in the final. Notably, both Pernfors and Popyrin defeated Korda in their semifinals—Pernfors against Petr Korda and Popyrin against his son, Sebastian Korda.

Thanks to this triumph, Popyrin makes a huge leap in the world rankings to No. 23. However, there won't be much time to celebrate this great success. Already on Wednesday, Popyrin will be playing in the Masters tournament in Cincinnati against the reigning BNP Paribas Nordic Open champion, Frenchman Gaël Monfils.

Did you know?

Alexei Popyrin played in Stockholm in both 2018 and 2019. On both occasions, Popyrin qualified for the tournament.