Andrey Rublev produced a polished performance on Sunday to beat Matteo Arnaldi in straight sets and reach his first final in Montreal. The match took 18 games to decide and an hour and 18 minutes.

In the victory, Rublev tallied four aces to one double fault and landed 65% first serves. He won 79% first-serve points (27/34) and 61% second-serve points (11/18). Rublev converted all three break points he had in the match. The 26-year-old will play in his second Masters 1000 final of the season (won the Madrid Open in May) and can lift his third title of 2024 (won in Hong Kong and Madrid).

Awaiting him is Alexei Popyrin, who will contest his first Masters 1000 final. The big-serving Australian knocked out FOUR top-20 players during the week in Montreal, including reigning Washington champion Sebastian Korda in the semifinal.

Popyrin outmuscled the American in two sets in one and a half hours. In the victory, he accounted for 14 winners to 18 unforced. He landed 59% of first serves and won an impressive 83% of first-serve points (34/41). Popyrin also won 34% of second-serve points (10/29) and converted four of 11 break points in the match.

Andrey Rublev vs Alexei Popyrin Head-To-Head

• Rublev and Popyrin are tied at 1-1 in their head-to-head.

Andrey Rublev vs Alexei Popyrin Prediction

Rublev will be wary of Popyrin’s skillset, especially on this surface where he has been devastating with his powerful game. Although the Russian can do great things for the remainder of the season, notably at the US Open and potentially at the ATP Finals, this is undoubtedly his biggest match of the season in light of his recent regular meltdowns on the court. He’s proven he belongs in the ATP’s elite group this week by defeating the World No. 1 and defending champion Jannik Sinner, and we think he’ll overpower Popyrin to win his third career Masters title.