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Alexei Popyrin dudded by 'unfair' move as Aussie tennis champion crashes back to earth

The Australian wasn't able to back up his Montreal heroics in Cincinnati.

sam goodwin
Sports Editor
·4-min read

Questions are being asked about the ATP Tour's brutal scheduling after Alexei Popyrin crashed out in the first round of the Cincinnati Masters on Wednesday, just 48 hours after winning in Montreal for the biggest triumph of his career. Popyrin became the first Australian man to win a Masters 1000 title in 21 years on Monday when he stormed to the title in Montreal.

But just 48 hours later, he bombed out of Cincinnati in the first round with a 7-5 6-3 loss to veteran Frenchman Gael Monfils. The 25-year-old has enjoyed a breakout 12 months and has now risen to World No.23 on the back of his Montreal title.

Alexei Popyrin after winning the Montreal Masters.
Alexei Popyrin won the Montreal Masters before losing in the first round in Cincinnati. Image: Getty

And even though organisers offer the winner of Montreal a private jet to get to the Cincinnati Masters in time, the Aussie was still feeling the effects and was clearly fatigued on Wednesday. The fact that two Masters 1000 events take place within two days of each other has raised eyebrows in the tennis community.

It's not a new issue, but its reared its ugly head because of the situation with Popyrin. Since 1995, only four players have managed to do the Montreal-Cincinnati double by winning both titles. Andre Agassi did it in 1995, as did Pat Rafter in 1998, Andy Roddick in 2003 and Rafa Nadal in 2013. Rafter, Roddick and Nadal all went on to win the US Open after achieving the Montreal-Cincinnati double.

Alexei Popyrin in Montreal.
Alexei Popyrin became the first Australian man to win a Masters 1000 title in 21 years. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)

But nobody has managed to go back-to-back in the last 11 years, and the fate of the Montreal winners makes for some grim reading. During that span, Alexader Zverev (2017), Pablo Carreno Busta (2022), Jannik Sinner (2023) and Popyrin (2024) all lost in the first round of Cincinnati after winning Montreal.

Novak Djokovic withdrew from Cincinnati in 2016, as did Nadal in 2018 and 2019. The only Montreal champion to achieve some semblance of success in Cincinnati was Daniil Medvedev in 2021 when he made the semis of the latter tournament. The situation around Popyrin led many to question the scheduling, with some labelling it "cruel" and "unfair" to have two 1000 events so close together.

Meanwhile, there was better news for Popyrin's fellow Aussie Max Purcell, who joined compatriot Jordan Thompson in the second round with a 6-4 7-6 (7-1) win over Czech player Tomas Machac. And World No.1 Sinner progressed with a 6-4 7-5 win over Alex Michelsen.

Sinner lost in the quarters in Montreal after opting not to play at the Paris Olympics, but has bounced back and brushed off concerns he's injured. The Italian saved all eight break points he faced against the American qualifier.

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Sinner will either meet Thompson or Argentine Sebastian Baez for a place in the quarters. Sinner has reached the final eight at all five previous ATP Masters 1000s he has played this season, but has never advanced to the quarters in Cincinnati.

"It was a tough match," said Sinner, who improved to 25-2 on hard courts this season. "I'm very happy to be in the next round. For me this is a place where I used to struggle a lot in the past years, so let's see what I can do this time."

with AAP