By Ricky Dimon
For the first time in his career, Pablo Carreno Busta is a champion at the Masters 1000 level.
Carreno Busta won the Western & Southern Open on Sunday afternoon, overcoming Hubert Hurkacz 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 after one hour and 46 minutes. The 31-year-old Spaniard withstood 18 aces off Hurkacz’s racket and took control of the match by dominating on second-serve return points (17 of 24 won). Over the final two sets, Carreno Busta converted all three of his break chances and did not face a single break point.
“It’s an amazing feeling to be a Masters 1000 winner,” the world No. 23 assured. “It’s the best title of my career for sure and I don’t know how I’m feeling in this moment.
“I know that during all the week we worked very hard–also the weeks before. It’s very important to be very positive all the time. It’s not my best season this year. I lost some matches that probably other seasons I didn’t lose, but I just tried to continue believing in my team, in myself and in my game.”
Carreno Busta was without question the best player in Montreal from start to finish this week. He did not drop a set through four matches before losing one to Dan Evans in a quarterfinal contest that featured high-quality tennis the whole way. Carreno Busta will climb to No. 14 when the new rankings are released.
Hurkacz lost an ATP final for the first time in his career. The 25-year-old Pole had previously been 5-0, including a victory at the 2021 Miami Masters. Hurkacz, ranked 10th, captured an ATP 500 title this summer in Halle.
The Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati is next on the schedule for both Carreno Busta and Hurkacz.
Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand. You can follow him on twitter at @Dimonator.