Andrey Rublev was the favorite before the Canadian Open final against Alexei Popyrin, but the ten-time Grand Slam quarterfinalist suffered a heavy defeat to the Australian, who secured his first Masters-1000 title.
The No. 5 seed at the Montreal event would undoubtedly have felt confident before the final. His route to that point included a victory against Jannik Sinner, although the Italian struggled with a leg injury in the final set.
Rublev also created headlines recently after discussing his explosive outbursts on the court. The 26-year-old admitted to suffering from depression, saying that led to him sometimes feeling unable to control his emotions on the court.
Popyrin's run to the final was impressive. He defeated Tomas Machac, Ben Shelton, Grigor Dimitrov, Alexander Zverev, and Sebastian Korda, so he was not an opponent to be taken lightly in the final.
However, no fans could have predicted the one-sided nature of the opening set. Popyrin utterly dominated, leaving the sellout crowd in Montreal stunned into silence for long periods.
Rublev was broken to love in the very first game of the match after losing the first four points. Popyrin immediately made his mark with some blistering forehands in that game.
This year's Madrid Open winner had a chance to strike back at 1-2 on Popyrin's serve, but he could not convert two break points. His opponent hit three aces in that game to get himself out of trouble.
Things went from bad to worse for Rublev when he was broken in the following game. Two more holds of serve from Popyrin sealed the opening set 6-2 in a far more comfortable manner than anyone expected.
Rublev was hoping for a strong start to the second set. Unfortunately for him, the opposite happened. He was broken in the opening game of the set once again, giving Popyrin a firm grip on the final.
It seemed like Rublev may work his way back into the match in the fifth and sixth games of the set. The two-time Masters-1000 titlist managed a tough hold from 1-3 down to stop himself from going down a double break.
In the following game, Popyrin's level dropped for the first time in the match. He lost his serve after serving a huge double fault on break point. The crowd came alive, hoping Rublev could take the contest in a deciding set.
However, Rublev immediately returned the initiative to the Australian in the next game. He made three unforced errors in a row to go down 0-40, losing his serve on the third break point after another powerful forehand return on a second serve from Popyrin.
There was no way back for Rublev after that. Popyrin served out the match and won the title after a 6-2, 6-4 triumph. It was an amazing performance from the Australian, who claimed his first Masters-1000 title and third title overall.
Rublev can still take positives from his week in Montreal. Reaching the final gives him some momentum to build on, although he will need to shake off the disappointment from his underwhelming final performance quickly.
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