Toronto – Alexei Pofyrin walked out an unexpected backhand before he lifted his arms in Stoic victory.
The emotions of the moment were in stark contrast to what he felt only a few seconds earlier – and for a frustrating first set.
Despite a roller coaster on Saturday evening at Center Court, the defensive National Bank Open Champion will continue to hunt for a second consecutive Canadian Men’s Tennis Championship.
Pofyrin fought back to beat no. 5 seed Holger Rune 4-6, 6-2, 6-2, 6-3 and to secure a place in the quarterfinals.
18th in Toronto and 26th on the overall ranking of the ATP Tour, De Hulking Australian won the 2024 tournament in Montreal for his third career victory.
“I think it’s just good vibes, good feelings from last year,” he said with a grin on the heels of a ninth straight NBO competition. “In the run -up to Canada I felt a lot of pressure.”
Rune – The World No. 9 – Regarding his performance in a confrontation in which Pofyrin fired 14 aces.
“I tried to hold everything,” said the Dane. “You can’t play such a full match. You will eventually be broken … just very disappointed.”
“He’s pressing really well,” Rune added. “He went for it and I wasn’t.”
Popyrin dropped that opening set at Sobeys Stadium, largely thanks to a 0-out-11 run on breakpoints.
“I was pissed off,” he said. “I felt that I shouldn’t have done one set – 11 breaking points are many breakpoints not to convert.
“I was really, very angry. I looked at my team and I was pissed off.”
The six-foot-five Paxyrin was ready to turn 26, pushed back in the second set, twice breaking his 22-year-old opponent, who won the Barcelona open on Clay in April.
“I let myself be angry with the change of goals,” he said. “I just told myself that if I keep getting these opportunities, it is just busy on him.”
Pofyrin, who grabbed his 13th career victory on a top 10 player and then said it “feels like home” in Canada, then Rune broke to rise 3-1 in the third set before he secured his comeback with that wonderful competition-winning effort.
“I did not make my first five first services … I don’t know what happened there,” he said about the Clinching game. “I had to save a breaking point in the link. When a backhand -lob, which usually didn’t really go well, it went inside.
“That was a nice feeling.”
Alexander Zverev in Germany, the number 1 seed of the tournament, also went to the quarters after no. 14 Francisco Cerundolo of Argentina retired due to an injury 6-4, 1-0 in the late match at the York University Campus in Northwest Toronto.
Popyrin will now be confronted with Zverev, who won the Canadian title 2017, for a place in the semi -final.
Alex Michelsen of the United States continued in Saturday’s early session at the ATP Masters 1000 event with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Countryman student ten. Seed no. 26 continued to roll after he had also driven out the third placed Lorenzo Musetti from Italy earlier this week.
Karen Khachanov-Nr. 11 Seed from Russia Pakte A victory over the fourth round of his own Saturday, topping No. 8 Casper Ruud van Norway 6-4, 7-5.
Canadian Wildcards Cleeve Harper from Calgary and Liam Draxl from Newmarket, Ont. -The last Canadians who, after a disappointing singles in Toronto, driven 7-5, 7-6 (3) by Guido Andreozzi from Argentina and Sander Arends of the Netherlands in second round.
Jannik Sinner of Italy, no. 2 Carlos Alcaraz from Spain, no. 5 Jack Draper of Britain and no. 6 Novak Djokovic from Serbia, no.
The tournament runs until Thursday.
#Defending #champion #Pofyrin #Downs #Rune #Progress #NBO #Quart #final