The Montreal final is set; Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz will take on the Spanish veteran Pablo Carreno Busta for the title on Sunday afternoon. Hurkacz is already a Masters 100 champion (Miami 2021); this is the biggest final of Carreno Busta’s career.
Before this week, Pablo Carreno Busta’s best results in Canada were a pair of second-round showings in 2017 and 2018. He has certainly made up for it this time around. Sunday’s final will also mark the first Masters 1000 final he has made. He has previous semifinal results in Indian Wells and Miami (in 2017 and 2018, respectively).
The Spaniard has been one of the most impressive players in a tournament characterized by upsets and early losses. He is the world No. 23, so while he wasn’t one of the pre-tournament favorites his success this week isn’t a huge shock, either.
Hubert Hurkacz had a bit of a slow start to the week, but he has gotten better with each round. The Pole got to the final the hard way; every match this week went the distance, including notable wins over Wimbledon finalist Nick Kyrgios and French Open finalist Casper Ruud.
Hurkacz and Carreno Busta have split their previous matches at one win each (both on hard courts).
The Pole wields a big serve to get himself out of trouble, which he has done on multiple occasions in Montreal, but generally his form has been a bit more patchy than his opponent’s. Carreno Busta, as he can sometimes do, is just knocking the cover off the ball this week. His groundstrokes have been ferocious and he has shown the same kind of form that carried him to the semifinals of the U.S. Open in 2017 and 2020.
Cheryl pick: Carreno Busta in 3
Ricky pick: Carreno Busta in 3
WWW?
Yes, Buster-gut in 3, probably. Always got the capacity to surprise.
Both guys playing great this week…PCB in 2.
I would love to see Carreno Busta win this title.
Sheer delight on the face of Carreno Busta. A well-earned Masters title! He was outstanding all week.
He’s a deceptively good player – just like a few of his countrymen, far more than clay court specialists.
I do rememeber a few disappointing losses for him-AO 5 setters I think – so great to see this
Congratulations to Carreno Busta! This was a feel good win for me. So nice to see him finally win a Masters title!
😍
Perfectly said NNY. His joy came right through the TV screen. Great so see grit and positivity pay off at last.