Alexei Popyrin north of the US border? That’s a good thing for the 25-year-old Aussie, who rallied past Holger Rune on Saturday night in Toronto to stretch his winning streak in Canada to nine victories, 4-6 6-2 6-3.
After the match he signed the camera “I love Canada X 2”.
Last year’s champion in Montreal reached his second Masters quarterfinal of 2025, and his fourth overall as he took out the 22-year-old World No.9 with an inspired effort.
“I just feel comfortable on these courts, I think the surface is a little bit quicker,” Popyrin said. “I don’t know if it makes sense, but it lets me have a little bit more time on the court, because I hit my first aggressive shot and I can dictate from there.”
Popyrin hit 30 winners against 24 unforced errors; Rune hit 24 winners and 39 unforced.
Ranked 26 and seeded 18 in Toronto, Popyrin has now won consecutive matches against former Top-5 players.
The Aussie went 0 for 11 in break opportunities in the opening set, but converted three break points across the final two sets to level his lifetime head-to-head with Rune at one apiece.
“After the first set I was pissed,” Popyrin said. “But when I came back out to return again, it felt like I was in control of the match. I told myself to be aggressive on the next break point that I got, and from then on I felt quite comfortable.”
Popyrin, who toppled former World No.1 Daniil Medvedev in the third round, is into his first hard court quarterfinal since he claimed the title in Montreal last year, defeating Andrey Rublev in the final.
He will face either top-seeded Alexander Zverev or Francisco Cerundolo in the last eight.
Popyrin saved a pair of break points while serving at 3-1 in the third, after breaking in the previous game. He didn’t look back from there, winning 12 of the final 15 points and breaking Rune again for good measure in the final game.
