Popyrin through to first Masters 1000 semi-final at Canadian Open

Australia’s Alexei Popyrin defeated fourth seed Hubert Hurkacz at the Canadian Open on Monday morning (AEST) in Montreal, booking a spot in his first-ever Masters 1000 semi-final.

The 3-6, 7-6 (5), 7-5 victory was also Popyrin’s equal-best win in completed matches on the ATP Tour in terms of opponent ranking, with Hurkacz sitting at No.6 in the world.

“I’m really happy right now, but a little bit tired,” Popyrin said after winning in two hours and 47 minutes.

“I have another match in about two hours.”

Popyrin, ranked No.62, will play America’s Sebastian Korda later on Monday, where he will be a slight betting underdog.

Bookmaker PlayUp puts him at $3 to continue his run and make a maiden Masters 1000 final.

Korda, who defeated No.2 seed Alexander Zverev, is the favourite to advance at $1.40.

Both players are having to do double duty on Monday, courtesy of bad weather earlier in the week.

Crowd wills Popyrin into uncharted territory

An hour into Popyrin’s second-ever Masters quarter-final, the Australian must have felt like he was experiencing déjà vu.

Twelve months ago, the 24-year-old reached the final eight in a Masters tournament for the first time, losing to Hurkacz in the quarter-finals of the Cincinnati Masters.

Playing in Canada this time, the match seemed to be unfolding in a similar fashion.

After starting strongly with a break, Popyrin dropped his own serve twice in quick succession to lose the first set.

He then fell behind by a break early in the second set, with a straightforward win looking likely for Hurkacz when he led 6-3, 3-1.

However, the packed-out stadium in Montreal, excited to finally see some tennis this week, got behind Popyrin and willed the underdog to make a comeback.

“You guys are all amazing,” Popyrin said of the crowd afterwards.

“You helped me through this match against ‘Hubi’, who is one of the best players in the world.”

The second set eventually went to a tiebreaker, which Popyrin won against the odds to force a decider.

In the third set, it was Popyrin who took the initiative, generating nine break points on the usually impenetrable serve of Hurkacz.

He found success on the ninth of these, moving ahead 6-5 and gaining a chance to serve for the match.

Showing remarkable composure for someone playing in just their second Masters quarter-final, the 24-year-old served out the match to love, booking his spot in the semi-finals.

No Sinner leaves title race wide open

Popyrin will know that Montreal represents a unique opportunity to win a Masters title.

Both Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz, who played the gold medal match at the Olympics, withdrew from the tournament ahead of time.

Top seed Jannik Sinner, along with second seed Zverev, both crashed out in the quarter-finals, while world No.5 Daniil Medvedev did not make it past the round of 32.

While fifth seed Andrey Rublev is the leading contender, the Russian has been hot and cold in 2024 and offers a very different challenge to the likes of Sinner.

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