Alexei Popyrin’s love affair with the Canadian Open continues to blossom.
The Australian, who is the defending champion in Canada, caused an upset on Saturday evening by beating world number nine Holger Rune. The 18th seed fought back from a set down against Rune to win 4-6 6-2 6-3.
Popyrin has a storied history in Canada. The Australian stunned the ATP Tour in 2024 by winning his first ATP Masters 1000 title in Toronto, becoming the first Australian winner of a Masters 1000 title since Lleyton Hewitt.
It seems nothing has changed in 2025. The Australian defeated former world number one Daniil Medvedev before moving past Rune in similar fashion.
With victory over Rune, Popyrin achieved something that had never been done before in the entire history of the Open Era.
Alexei Popyrin wins nine consecutive matches at the Canadian Open
Alexei Popyrin has a lot of points to defend at this year’s Canadian Open tournament, which is being held in Toronto.
After defeating Andrey Rublev in the 2024 final, Popyrin set himself up for a pressurised week at the 2025 tournament, with 1000 ATP points to defend and the severe fluctuation of his ranking being a real possibility.
With so many points to defend, an early exit could have spelled trouble for the Australian’s chances of qualifying as a seeded player for the upcoming US Open.
However, Popyrin is doing a fine job in protecting his well-earned points. In fact, he has set a new Open Era standard in doing so.
As per OptaAce, Alexei Popyrin is the first player in the Open Era to win his first nine Men’s Singles main draw matches at the Canadian Open.
This is a somewhat surprising statistic when considering the list of great players who have competed at the Canadian Open down the years.
However, the Australian has more than earned his right to stand alone in this exclusive category following his stellar performance at the 2024 Canadian Open and an outstanding showing so far in the 2025 event.
Alexei Popyrin’s 2024 Canadian Open run
Alexei Popyrin’s name was not among the list of favourites heading into the 2024 Canadian Open.
The Australian was unseeded. However, he proceeded to make history by producing the tournament of his life so far.
After defeating Czechia’s Tomas Machac in the opener, Popyrin stunned three consecutive seeded players to reach the semi-finals, dismissing Ben Shelton, Grigor Dimitrov and Hubert Hurkacz.
The Australian then defeated Sebastian Korda in straight sets before comfortably beating fifth seed Andrey Rublev in the final, winning 6-2 6-4.
| 2024 Canadian Open Round | Alexei Popyrin’s Opponent | Score |
| Round of 64 | Tomas Machac | 6-3 6-4 |
| Round of 32 | Ben Shelton | 6-4 7-6 |
| Round of 16 | Grigor Dimitrov | 4-6 7-6 6-3 |
| Quarter-final | Hubert Hurkacz | 3-6 7-6 7-5 |
| Semi-final | Sebastian Korda | 7-6 6-3 |
| Final | Anrey Rublev | 6-2 6-4 |
The 25-year-old followed up his run in Canada by shocking Novak Djokovic in the US Open third round.
Popyrin is looking to repeat his heroics in 2025, and who is to say he cannot do so after his performances so far.
