Pablo Carreno Busta was patient and the wait will have been worth it. At 31, he won his first Masters 1000 title on Sunday in Montreal, defeating Hubert Hurkacz (8) in three sets of 3-6, 6-3 and 6-3.
Posted at 5:59 p.m.
A priori, it was perhaps not the kind of final that Quebec tennis fans expected at the start of the week. Quickly during the tournament, the seeds fell and that opened the door to players who were just waiting for such an opportunity. The former world number 10, Pablo Carreno Busta, who had disappeared from the radar, seized his chance to shine by winning the National Bank Open.
From the start, the task was no small one. To hope to finish the game with the trophy in his hands, he had to beat Hurkacz. The Polish giant was undefeated in five career finals and he was the only remaining seed in the tournament.
The match had started smoothly for the 23e world racket. The first run was very tight and the Spaniard made very few mistakes. Only he committed costly ones at crucial moments, like when his opponent broke him at 3-2. It was only the fourth time in the tournament that Carreno Busta had been beaten on serve. The rest of the round was Hurkacz’s business.
However, Carreno Busta played like when he beat Matteo Berrettini (15) and Jannik Sinner (7) for the rest of the game. He was regular, consistent and he responded adequately to his rival’s attacks, especially in return of service.
He grabbed the other heats to slip away with victory and the title.