Popyrin Wins First ATP Title In Singapore, Bests Bublik

Alexei Popyrin collected his first career ATP title Sunday in Singapore beating Alexander Bublik 4-6, 6-0, 6-2.

“It feels unbelievable,” said Popyrin. “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. I have done it for everybody who was involved. I am just so proud that I could actually get it done.”

The 6-foot-5 Popyrin lost just six points on his first serve to pace the victory.

“That third set was a grind,” he said. “It was really a grind. I started picking up where he was going to serve a lot. I started getting the balls back in play a lot.

“The most important thing was to read his serve and that is what I started to do,” Popyrin added. “At the same time, I tried to play aggressive and that is what I did. It paid off.”

Both players were seeking their first tour title, and in fact Popyrin was in his first final.

The 21-year-old Popyrin joins countryman Nick Kyrgios, Alex De Minaur, John Millman and Bernard Tomic as active Australian men with titles.

After a career plagued by injuries, Popyrin had never even been to a ATP semifinal before, and only had reached the quarters once before. In his first semifinal, he beat former US Open champion Marin Cilic.

The No. 114 Popryin will see his ranking jump to a new career-high on Monday into the Top 85.

Bublik falls to 0-3 in tour finals.

“There are a lot of positives,” said Bublik. “My game definitely evolved since last year.

“I am happy with my performance during the week. Alexei played enormous tennis today. He hit all the lines, he hit all the serves and all the returns. He was the better player today.”

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