Top five most surprising ATP Masters champions in 21st century ft. Alexei Popyrin, Borna Coric & more

Alexei Popyrin recently won the ATP Masters Canadian Open.

Tennis is dominated by the top seeds, and enthusiasts prefer watching the top-ranked players battle against each other in the final of a Grand Slam or a Masters event for the prize. However, on a few occasions, the fans witness a breakthrough star or a surprise performer, win the event and make a huge leap in the rankings.

At times, such results are the beginning of something great, while on a few occasions, they turn out to be a one-event wonder. With that being said, let’s take a look at the top five most surprising ATP Masters champions in the 21st century:

5. Borna Coric: 2022 Cincinnati Open

In 2022, Croatia’s Borna Coric defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas to win his maiden Masters title at the Cincinnati Open. With his triumph, he became the lowest-ranked player to win the ATP 1000 event in history. He entered the tournament via protected ranking (PR) and played his opening round fixture against Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti.

In the second round, he outclassed Rafael Nadal in a tough battle to secure a spot in the third round, where he faced another Spaniard, Roberto Bautista Agut. With another win, he faced Felix Augur Aliassime and Cameron Noorie in the quarterfinals and the semis respectively. Coric’s final opponent, Stefanos Tsitsipas, defeated Daniil Medvedev to qualify for the summit clash.

However, the fourth seed failed to win his first Masters title and fell short in a 7-6 (0), 6-2 defeat. The Croatian continued his stellar form in 2023, where he reached the semifinals of the Madrid Open. However, since then, the former World No. #12 has fallen out of form and has struggled to win any other ATP title.

4. Cameron Norrie: 2021 Indian Wells Masters

The 2021 Indian Wells Masters was missed by Novak Djokovic as well as Rafael Nadal. Meanwhile, defending champion Dominic Thiem did not participate in the tournament due to his well-documented wrist injury. Daniil Medvedev was the top seed at the ATP 1000 event and he lost to Grigor Dimitrov in the fourth round.

Seeded 21st, Norrie started his campaign against Tennys Sandgren before beating Spain’s Roberto Bautista Agut in the third round. Later, with wins over Tommy Paul and Diego Schwartzman, he faced Grigor Dimitrov in the semi-final. Dimitrov also failed to win a set against Norrie and lost the match 6-2, 6-4.

With a three-set victory over Georgia’s Nikoloz Basilashvili in the final, Cameron Norrie won his first and only ATP Masters title on the tour. Since then, the British tennis star has failed to replicate the same success at a similar level of competition.

3. Alexei Popyrin: 2024 Canadian Open

The most recent champion, Australia’s Alexei Popyrin, shocked the tennis world by winning the 2024 Canadian Open with a resounding straight-set victory over Russia’s Andrey Rublev. Popyrin was Australia’s top hope at the event in the absence of Alex de Minaur. However, no one expected the 25-year-old to win the ATP 1000 event.

The Aussie secured a spot in the tournament in place of Francisco Cerúndolo and started his campaign against Tomas Machac. After the win, Popyrin started a series of upsets and defeated Ben Shelton, Grigor Dimitrov, and Hubert Hurkacz to reach the semifinals.

After beating Sebastian Korda and Andrey Rublev in the last two matches, Alexei Popyrin became the first Australian since Lleyton Hewitt in 2003 to win a Masters title.

2. Jack Sock: 2017 Paris Masters

Currently, a pickleball player, Jack Sock, is a former tennis American No. #1. Additionally, he won the Paris Masters in 2017 after defeating Filip Krajinović in the final. The hot favourite to win the title, Roger Federer, withdrew from the tournament, while Nadal was forced to retire due to a knee injury.

Sock started his campaign against Kyle Edmund with a straight-set win. In the next round, he defeated Lucas Pouille and then recorded a win over Fernando Verdasco to reach the semi-finals.

He later faced French wild card Julien Benneteau in the last four before he won the 2017 Paris Masters with a victory over qualifier Filip Krajinović. Except for Louis Pouille, Jack Sock didn’t face another seeded player throughout his campaign in the French capital.

1. Pablo Carreno Busta: 2022 Canadian Open

Pablo Carreno Busta won the Canadian Open in 2022 by defeating Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz in the final in three sets. Unseeded at the tournament, Busta recorded astounding victories over the likes of Matteo Berenttini, Holger Rune, and Jannik Sinner in the three initial rounds without dropping a single set.

The 2022 Canadian Open was special as, for the first time since 1999 Indian Wells, the top three seeds at a Masters 1000 tournament were defeated in their opening matches. The Spaniard lost his first set in the semifinal against Daniel Evans. However, he prevailed in the match, with the final scoreline reading 7-5, 6-7, 6-2.

In the final, he faced Hubert Hurkacz, who was fighting for his second Masters title at that time. However, the Pole went down fighting 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 as Busta won his maiden and only ATP 1000 title on the tour.

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