Alexei Popyrin was forced to clear things up after making a cheeky comment in his victory speech at the Canadian Open.

The Australian arrived in Montreal ranked outside the top 60 and walked away as the surprise champion.

But his girlfriend wasn’t there for the biggest win of his career and Popyrin jokingly hinted that she was a jinx as he accepted the trophy.

“This is one of the few weeks where my girlfriend isn’t travelling with me and I win the tournament,” Popyin laughed, addressing the crowd after beating Andrey Rublev 6-2 6-4 in the final. “I hope she comes to New York now.”

The 25-year-old quickly clarified his comments after leaving the court, having appeared to drop himself in it with his partner Amy Pederick by linking her absence to his title win. Asked if his girlfriend would forgive him, he replied: “Yeah.

“I didn’t really mean it in a way that I don’t want her to travel. I kind of meant it in a way that I hope she will come. It’s her decision. So I didn’t mean it in a way that – I kind of meant it like she wants me to win so much that hopefully she doesn’t think that her not being there is a charm.”

Luckily, things are all good between Popyrin and Pederick. They spoke as soon as he lifted his biggest title and he credited her for playing a crucial role in his career. “For me I told her when I got off the court – I called her straight away, and I said, like, for me – she knows it already. She knows that I wouldn’t be here without her,” he added.

“She’s been through the dips and the bottom of the lows of the lows with me. She’s seen me having my worst year in my career, and she was there for me. She really helped me come out of it. She knows that I wouldn’t be here without her.”

Popyrin will now head to Cincinnati for the next Masters 1000 tournament. While he won’t be making the journey with his girlfriend, he will still be travelling in style. Finalists at the tournaments in Canada get private jets to Ohio for the quick turnaround between tournaments.