Australia’s Alexei Popyrin has won his first ATP Tour final by beating Alexander Bublik in the Singapore Open decider.
Key points:
- Popyrin defeated Bublik 4-6, 6-0, 6-2 in the final
- He is set to enjoy a rankings rise from his current standing at 114 in the world
- Popyrin reached the second round of the Australian Open earlier this month
Popyrin scored a stunning 4-6, 6-0, 6-2 triumph over the world number 46 in just under 85 minutes on Sunday.
The 21-year-old Popyrin was broken in the fifth game of the final and his long forehand gifted Bublik, who was also seeking his first ATP title, the opening set at the second time of asking.
Popyrin, ranked 114 in the world, won all 12 points on serve in the second set and broke Bublik three times to take it 6-0 in just 20 minutes and level the contest.
The pair had met just once prior on the ATP Challenger Tour in 2018 in Astana when the Australian rallied from a set down to win in three sets, and Popyrin was hoping for a similar outcome.
On serve but down 3-2, Bublik double faulted twice to give Popyrin the crucial break.
The Kazakh handed the title to Popyrin after his serve failed him again with his fifth service break of the match.
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Popyrin contested the Singapore tournament after reaching the second round of the Australian Open in Melbourne earlier this month.
The former French Open junior champion reached a career-high ranking of 87 in 2019.
Earlier on Sunday in Singapore, Australian pair Matthew Ebden and John-Patrick Smith were beaten in the doubles finals by Belgian top seeds Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen 6-2, 6-3.
AAP/ABC
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