Alexey won the biggest victory of his career, being a clear underdog.
The hopes of Russian tennis player Andrey Rublev’s fans for his triumph in the Montreal Masters final were replaced by bitter disappointment. Not only was the favorite unable to do anything against another Russian tennis player Alexei Popyrin, but he also spent a lot of nerves.
Russian final in Montreal
The decisive match of the Canadian Masters could have been a big step forward in Rublev’s return to the fight for high positions in the ATP rankings. The emotional Russian player “covered up” even the best tennis player on the planet Yannick Siner on his way to the final.
In the final game, Andrey was considered a clear favorite. He was up against Australian Alexei Popyrin, who was born into a family of Russian immigrants. Before this match, he could not boast of victories in such major tournaments and was considered an underdog. He had never even entered the top thirty in the world rankings.
The situation for Alexey was complicated by the fact that this was his second match of the day. Due to rainy weather, he was forced to play the semifinal against Sebastian Korda a few hours before the decisive match. With such input, experts all bet on Rublev.
Rublev’s nerves on the court
But the beginning of the match was a disaster for Andrey. He allowed Popyrin to make a break without winning a single rally. There was no fight for the next game either. As a result, Alexey took the lead 2:0. The Russian Australian needed only five minutes to do this. The unsuccessful start led to Andrey not holding back his emotions, shouting loudly in his hearts.
Rublev’s failure on serve continued for almost the entire first set. Paradoxically, the Russian looked better on the return, although it cannot be said that Popyrin’s serves were simple. In the fifth game, after the opponent’s second break, Andrey was literally faceless. During the break, he loudly scolded himself for his failures. Our player was unable to turn the tide in the opening period, losing 2:6.
During the break between the games, Andrey went to the under-stands room to recharge, but it did not help. In the first game of the second set, he again failed to take his serve. Popyrin’s forehand became an insurmountable problem for the Russian at the beginning of the set.
At 1:2 Rublev called the doctor and complained of stomach pain. Three pills solved the problem, and Andrey perked up a bit. In the sixth game, he even made a return break, but the joy of the Russian fans did not last long. Alexey immediately returned the advantage on Rublev’s serve and brought the set to victory – 6:4. In the end, Rublev spent a lot of nerves, swearing and kicking advertising boards after unsuccessful rallies.
For Popyrin, this victory was the biggest in his career. Success at the Masters will allow the 25-year-old athlete to debut in the top 30 best tennis players in the world. The Australian immediately soared to 23rd place.
“It means so much to me. It’s all because of the hard work I’ve put in over the last few years. All the sacrifices I’ve made, not just me, but my family, my girlfriend, my team, everyone around me. They just sacrificed their lives for me,” Alexey said after his victory.
After the defeat, Andrey thanked his opponent and congratulated him on his victory, and also announced that he was going to Cincinnati, where he would fight only for victory in the next Masters.
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Austrian tennis player Sebastian Ofner (ATP 131) suffered a disappointing defeat in the second round of the 2026 Australian Open qualifiers.
In the semi-finals of the selection, the Austrian player lost to the US representative in three sets Nisheshu Basavareddy (ATP 239) in 2 hours 32 minutes. Basavareddy took the victory over Ofner in the third set super tiebreaker.
Sebastian was ahead 7:1 in the super tiebreaker and started celebrating his victory after gaining a point. Sebastian started walking towards the goal and the referee told him the match wasn’t over yet.
As a result, Ofner lost 11:13 and missed two match points: one at 10:9 on the return, the other at 11:10 on serve.
Basavareddy will compete against George Loffagen (Great Britain, ATP 211) in the Australian Open qualifying final.
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On January 14, all second round matches in tough tournaments ended WTA 500 in Adelaide And WTA 250 in HobartIt will take place parallel to the Australian Open 2026 qualifying match (Melbourne).
In Adelaide, Dayana Yastremskaya’s felon Katerina Sinyakova lost to Diana Schneider in the second round.
The best moments of tennis matches LIVE on Telegram channel Tennis on Sport.ua
Second-seeded five-hundred Madison Keys knocked out Tereza Valentova, and eighth-seeded Victoria Mboko fought Anna Kalinskaya.
Victoria Mboko [8] – 🏳️ Anna Kalinskaya – 6:2, 3:6, 7:6 (8:6) Teresa Valentova – Madison Keys [2] – 4:6, 1:6
WTA 500 Adelaide. Quarter final matches
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🏳️Mirra Andreeva [3] – Ayla Tomljanovic [WC]
🏳️Diana Schneider [9] – Emma Navarro [6]
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Kimberly Birrell- Jacqueline Christian [Q] Victoria Mboko [8] – Madison Keys [2]
Video review of match day in Adelaide
In Hobart, top seed Emma Raducanu advanced to the quarter-finals without a fight – Magdalena French withdrew from her second round match.
Olga Danilovich, who defeated McCartney Kessler and advanced to the second place, also defeated Peyton Stearns in the 1/8 final.
Third-seeded Iva Jovic crushes her opponents: The young American first gave up just one game to Janice Tjen and then defeated Renata Sarasua with scores of 6:1, 6:2. Her next opponent will be Magda Linette.
WTA 250 Hobart. 1/8 final
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Emma Raducanu [1] – Magdalena French – WO., Raducanu Rebecca Shramkova – Talia Preston [WC] – 4:6, 1:6
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(Adelaide) Leylah Annie Fernandez and her Hungarian playing partner Timea Babos fell 7-6 (3), 6-7 (6) and 6-10 to the Czech Katerina Siniakova and the Chinese Zhang Shuai in the quarter-finals of the women’s doubles at the Adelaide tennis tournament on Wednesday.
Fernandez and Babos bowed after a tight duel lasting one hour and 59 minutes in front of the second seeds of the doubles tournament.
Siniakova and Zhang will face Kazakh Anna Danilina and Serbian Aleksandra Krunic, fourth seeds in the doubles, in the final four.
The Quebecoise, 22e world racket, lost to Russian Diana Shnaider 7-5, 6-3 in singles on Monday.
Furthermore, Ontario’s Victoria Mboko, eighth seed, will meet in the quarter-finals of the women’s singles with American Madison Keys, second seed, at the end of the evening.
Mboko is playing her first official WTA singles tournament in 2026, and her first since Hong Kong, which she won, in November 2025.
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Maria Bouzkova [LL] – 6:3, 6:1
