The final is set at the ATP National Bank Open in Montreal, after a week that tested the resilience and adaptability of the players, with rain delays and super windy conditions at times. A series of surprising upsets saw most of the top seeds exit earlier than expected. Despite the hurdles, two players made it to the final. Andrey Rublev is the last man standing among the top seeds while Alexei Popyrin had the best week of his career. Rublev has been to this stage before but it’s the first time for Popyrin and a well-deserved one. It promises to be an intriguing match between two confident players. As always, we here at LWOT will offer our prediction for the final. But who will lift the trophy?
ATP Montreal Final Prediction
Andrey Rublev vs Alexei Popyrin
Head-to-Head: Rublev 1-1 Popyrin
Skipping the Olympics and preparing for the North American hard court swing has been fruitful for Andrey Rublev. He has done either extremely poorly or extremely well in every tournament he played this year except for the Australian Open. The biggest change for Rublev this week has been his demeanour on the court. He has been calm and kept his negative emotions in check, which enabled him to play freely. The win over Jannik Sinner in the quarterfinals was huge for him and made him believe that he could win the title. Three wins in a row against players who beat him in straight sets this year. His ball striking is so clean when he’s playing well. He is the favourite in this match and has a huge chance to win his third Masters 1000 title.
Before the tournament began, few people would have expected Alexei Popyrin to reach the final. Props to Popyrin for seizing the moment in a Masters when he had the chance. This is the first final of this year for Popyrin and what a time to make it. He has played some fantastic tennis this week and beat players who were all ranked much higher than him. First time playing the main draw of the National Bank Open and he does this. He is always grinding and working hard so it’s good to see him get his flowers. Popyrin will be at a new career high ranking no matter the result of this final.
Popyrin is a big server which can be tricky for Rublev given his high-risk/high-reward returning approach. But, other than that Rublev will have the advantage in everything else. He will dictate the rallies behind his forehand and rush Popyrin, who is not the best defender on tour. Popyrin won quite easily when these two played in Monte Carlo, but Rublev is in a much better space currently. The Australian will make this a match but things are going Rublev’s way this week and he won’t let this title slip.
Prediction: Rublev in 3
Main Photo Credit: Mike Frey-USA TODAY Sports
