Alexei Popyrin stunned the tennis world earlier this month, emerging from relative obscurity to win the Montreal Masters.
In doing so, he became the first Australian Masters 1000 champion since Lleyton Hewitt over 20 years ago and climbed to a career-high ranking of #23.
The result was shocking for several reasons, but where does it rank amongst the biggest shocks in the highest tier of tennis events outside the Grand Slams?
Known as Masters events on the ATP tour since 2000, the WTA tour has rebranded its highest tier of tournaments multiple times in that period, from the Tier 1 series, to Premier Mandatory and Premier 5 events, to the current denomination of WTA 1000 events.
All will be considered in this list of the most surprising winners of some of the biggest titles in tennis this century.
Alexei Popyrin – Montreal 2024
Where better to start than with the inspiration for this list: Alexei Popyrin’s incredible run to the title in Montreal.
Ranked #62 at the start of the event, the 25-year-old came into Montreal having had a decent 2024 season, reaching the third round at the Olympics, Wimbledon, Miami, Monte-Carlo and Queens.
A solid resume for a solid player, nobody was predicting what would happen over the week in Montreal.
Popyrin claimed five top 20 wins and three victories over those ranked inside the top 10, namely Grigor Dimitrov (against whom he saved three match points), Hubert Hurkacz and Andrey Rublev in the final.
A case of all the elements of a power game clicking at the same time, Popyrin overwhelmed his opponents as he stormed to the title.
Camila Giorgi – Montreal 2021
Just a few years ago, the WTA Tour experienced a similarly shocking result in Montreal.
Camila Giorgi, a player who made a career out of being a dangerous, streaky opponent who could hit anyone off the court on her day, put together a full week of breathtaking tennis to claim the crown in Montreal.
Ranked #71 going into the event, the Italian defeated seeds Elise Mertens, Petra Kvitova, Coco Gauff and Karolina Pliskova enroute to the title, which was by far the biggest of her career, having previously only won two at 250 level.
A truly stunning result for a player who had only reached the second week of a slam twice prior to her win in Montreal.
Borna Coric – Cincinnati 2022
The North American hardcourt theme continues, as Borna Coric’s shock win in Cincinnati has to be included on any list of surprise Masters 1000 champions.
That Coric would win a Masters 1000 title at some point in his career was hardly a surprise; he had been widely viewed as one of the most promising players of his generation as a former junior world number #1, famously defeated Roger Federer to win the title in Halle in 2018, and made the final at the Masters 1000 event in Shanghai later that year.
However, the circumstances of Coric’s win in Cincinnati were certainly shocking.
Having dealt with various injury setbacks and other misfortune, Coric had not won a title since his win in Halle almost five years prior.
The Croatian entered the event in Cincinnati using a protected ranking, with his actual ranking outside the top 150.
As a result, Coric’s title win made him the lowest-ranking champion in Masters 1000 history.
Bianca Andreescu – Indian Wells 2019
From a player whose potential for future stardom was well-established, to one who came from almost nowhere to announce themselves on one of tennis’ biggest stages.
Bianca Andreescu was a name known only to the most committed of tennis fans when she arrived in the California Desert in 2019.
Andreescu began the 2019 season ranked outside the top 150 and having not played a WTA tour-level match in 14 months.
The Canadian had failed to qualify at all four majors in 2018, but made a strong start to her 2019 campaign, reaching the final in Auckland and securing a first ever main draw win at a Grand Slam, defeating Whitney Osuigwe at the Australian Open.
However, none of those achievements could have led anyone to believe she was capable of doing what she did at Indian Wells.
Andreescu stormed the field, beating five seeded players including Garbine Muguruza, Elina Svitolina and Angelique Kerber in the quarters, semis and final respectively.
Andreescu’s scarcely believable success would catapult her to the upper echelons of tennis, famously proceeding to win the US Open later that year.
The Canadian earns her place on this list, although faced some tough competition from the winners of Indian Wells in the years prior, especially Naomi Osaka in 2018 whose season followed a similar trajectory.
Albert Portas – Hamburg 2001
Taking a step back in time, a list of improbable Masters champions is incomplete without Albert Portas’ run from qualifying all the way to the title in Hamburg.
Portas, aged 27 at the time, had never reached the second week of a slam, had never won an ATP title and had only won a handful of matches at Masters level in his career.
Having made his way through qualifying, the Spaniard defeated seeds Magnus Norman, Sebastien Grosjean and Lleyton Hewitt enroute to a meeting with Juan Carlos Ferrero in the final.
Ferrero came into the final on a 16-match winning streak, but it was to be Portas’ moment, famously mastering the drop shot to claim what would prove to be the only tour level title of his career.
Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez – Rome 2010
The clay court swing threw up some major curveballs on the WTA tour in 2010.
First there was Rome, where Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez, a plyer best known for her doubles prowess, pulled off an unlikely tournament win.
Martinez Sanchez’s quality as a doubles player was undisputed, having won the year end championships the year prior with partner Nuria Llagostera Vives, alongside an impressive resume of tour level titles.
The Spaniard’s singles career was less glittering, albeit having won two singles titles the year prior and being ranked inside the top 30 when she arrived in Rome.
However, Martinez Sanchez reached new heights during her week in the Eternal City, coming through a draw featuring nine of the top ten players at the time and defeating players including (soon-to-be Roland Garros champ) Francesca Schiavone, Caroline Wozniacki and Ana Ivanovic, before besting Jelena Jankovic in straight sets in the final.
Aravane Rezai – Madrid 2010
Following Martinez Sanchez’s shock win in Rome, few were expecting a similarly surprising result in Madrid the next week.
However, Aravane Rezai had other ideas.
Rezai was hardly an unknown quantity, having reached the fourth round of Roland Garros the year prior.
However, in a tournament where 11 of the 16 seeds were current or future grand slam champions, Rezai’s ascent was stunning.
The Iranian-Frenchwoman pulled off a major upset in the first round, defeating Justine Henin in three sets.
Wins over Andrea Petkovic, Jelena Jankovic and Lucie Safarova followed as she found herself facing off against Venus Williams in the final.
Williams had been brilliant in the first half of 2010, reaching four finals in her first six events, but was undone by the unseeded Rezai in straight sets.
Andrei Pavel – Montreal 2001
Where better to end this list than in Montreal where the discussion began.
The Canadian city has not only thrown up surprise winners in recent years but was doing so
over 20 years ago when Romanian Andrei Pavel claimed the title.
A two-time ATP tour champion, the then 27-year-old had put together a respectable career, but it was in Montreal that he would have his finest moment.
Pavel defeated Andy Roddick, Tommy Haas and Pat Rafter in his final three matches of the tournament.
The win would launch the most successful period of Pavel’s career, as he would go on to match or better his best result at each Grand Slam, including a quarterfinal at Roland Garros in 2002.
Whether a similar fate awaits Alexei Popyrin remains to be seen.
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