Alexei Popyrin wins Singapore Open, secures maiden ATP Tour title
Alexei Popyrin secured his maiden ATP Tour title by winning the Singapore Tennis Open on Sunday. The unseeded Aussie rallied from a set down to defeat fourth seed Alexander Bublik 4-6, 6-0, 6-2 in the final. Popyrin's victory against Bublik was his second win against seeded opposition this week. In the semi-final, he claimed a 7-6(5), 7-6(2) victory against third seed Marin Cilic.
Popyrin produced a powerful performance to overcome the fourth seed in 84 minutes. He started off on a poor not, losing the first set 4-6. However, he made a stunning comeback in the second set, making it a one-sided affair (6-0). The duo was 2-2 in the third set, however, Popyrin surged ahead and clinched the final set 6-2.
First ATP Tour title ✔
— ATP Tour (@atptour) February 28, 2021
New Career-High FedEx ATP Ranking ✔@AlexeiPopyrin99 defeats Alexander Bublik 4-6, 6-0, 6-2 for the #SingaporeTennisOpen title 👏 pic.twitter.com/lAC2p1ylR4
Popyrin claimed his second win against a seeded player this week. In the semi-finals, he stunned third seed Marin Cilic 7-6(5), 7-6(2). Popyrin stood out in crunch moments throughout the week and won all five tie-break sets he contested.
After the match, Popyrin expressed his elation. "It feels unbelievable. A lot of sacrifice, a lot of dedication and a lot of hard work went into this from myself, my team and my whole entire family," he said. "I have done it for everybody who was involved. I am just so proud that I could actually get it done."
Popyrin is the second player to win a maiden ATP Tour title in 2021. Earlier this month, Daniel Evans claimed his maiden tour-level trophy at the Murray River Open. Besides, Bublik was also attempting to lift his first ATP Tour trophy. The Kazakhstani retired from last month's Antalya Open championship match. Bublik had also reached finals in Newport and Chengdu in 2019.
In the doubles event, Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen won the title by beating Matthew Ebden and John-Patrick 6-2, 6-3 in the final. The Belgians extended their unbeaten record in ATP Tour finals on Sunday. Although the duo entered this season with a 1-2 record this season, they went on to win all four of their matches at the Singapore Open in straight sets.
