It could be deja vu all over again for Andrey Rublev.

Rublev is one win away from capturing his second Masters 1000 title of the season, and if it happens it would come in eerily similar fashion to the first one. During the clay-court swing, the Russian went into Madrid with a 1-5 record in his last six matches. From completely out of nowhere, he lifted the trophy in the Spanish capital. Fast forward three months and Rublev arrived at the National Bank Open with a 4-6 record in his last 10 matches.

Improbably, lightning appears to be striking twice. The world No. 8 has once again found his form all of a sudden, reeling off victories in Montreal at the expense of Tomas Martin Etcheverry, Brandon Nakashima, Jannik Sinner, and Matteo Arnaldi. Only the top-seeded Sinner has managed to take a set off Rublev.

Standing in the 26-year-old’s way of an overall third Masters 1000 triumph on Monday is Alexei Popyrin. The head-to-head series is tied up at one win apiece; Rublev got the job done 7-6(5), 6-4 on the indoor hard courts of Vienna in 2023 before Popyrin prevailed 6-4, 6-4 this spring in Monte-Carlo.

It has been a dream week for Popyrin, who is through to his first final at this level thanks to defeats of Tomas Machac, Ben Shelton, Grigor Dimitrov, Hubert Hurkacz, and Sebastian Korda. The 62nd-ranked Australian saved three match points against Dimitrov and trailed Hurkacz by a set and a break in the quarterfinals.

Add rain delays into the mix with those difficult matches and it has been a grueling trek through the tournament for Popyrin. The 24-year-old has spent right at 10 hours on the court in Montreal and played five total sets on Sunday alone. Rublev, on the other hand, has pretty much rolled so far.

The No. 5 seed is well rested and has much more experience on this kind of stage, so count on him securing a second Masters 100 title of 2024.

Pick: Rublev in 2