An unlikely pairing meet in the men's singles final at the National Bank Open: Russia's Andrey Rublev against Australia's Alexei Popyrin.
The pregame narrative: Rublev knocked off top-seeded Jannik Sinner on his way to the final at Canada's ATP 1000 event, while Popyrin's most notable win came over fourth-seeded Hubert Hurkacz. For tonight's match, Rublev has even odds to win in straight sets.
Check out our Rublev vs. Popyrin odds for the National Bank Open men's singles final on Aug. 12.
Rublev vs. Popyrin odds
Go to full Rublev vs. Popyrin betting markets.
Even though he had to face world No. 1 Sinner along the way, Rublev had an easier path to tonight's NBO final than Popyrin did.
Sinner is dealing with a hip injury, after all, and he was the only seeded player that Rublev had to face. The Russian beat each of his three unseeded opponents in straight sets.
Popyrin, meanwhile, ousted three seeded opponents: Hurkacz, Grigor Dimitrov and Ben Shelton. But stamina could be a factor as he's put on a lot more mileage in this tournament than Rublev has.
As an unseeded player, Popyrin had to play in NBO's first round. So he has an additional match under his belt and has played just south of 10 hours of competitive play since last Wednesday.
Rublev has played roughly half that amount of time (5:32) over four matches.
In head-to-head matchups, both Rublev and Popyrin have claimed a victory — and Popyrin's was this year at an ATP 1000 event in Monte Carlo. That match was played on clay, though, while Rublev bested the Aussie last year on hardcourt in Vienna.
Rublev is 19-6 on hardcourt this year and 199-100 overall on the surface. Popyrin is 12-4 on hardcourt this year and 135-99 lifetime on the surface.
