03:34
Popyrin – Korda 5:6
Popyrin then hits a backhand into the hazard and offers a break point. And this exact mishap repeats itself a few seconds later. The Australian gives up his serve. Korda takes a 6:5 lead.
03:34
Popyrin – Korda 5:5
Popyrin throws away the starting position, allows himself the second double fault in this game and has to go through deuce.
03:32
Popyrin – Korda 5:5
Popyrin is now ahead 4-2 in double faults. However, that doesn’t stop the 25-year-old from earning two match points shortly afterwards.
03:31
Popyrin – Korda 5:5
But it remains a wild up and down. Good points alternate with hair-raising mistakes. Popyrin is unable to take advantage of his chances. And Korda wins the game in his favor.
03:29
Popyrin – Korda 5:4
A somewhat longer rally then develops, which Popyrin ends with a backhand into the net. But the Australian catches the backhand even better a little later, plays the cross ball for the winner and gets a second set point.
03:28
Popyrin – Korda 5:4
Then a forehand from Korda gets caught in the net. This gives Popyrin a break point, which is also a set point.
03:25
Popyrin – Korda 5:4
Korda loses the first point due to a slight error. That is his 13th unforced error. But shortly afterwards, Popyrin makes his 16th unforced error. That’s a lot for just one set.
03:24
Popyrin – Korda 5:4
A little later, Popyrin also quickly gets through to 15 and takes the lead again, now leading 5.4. As a result, Korda has to serve straight away to avoid losing the set.
03:22
Popyrin – Korda 4:4
Now things are picking up speed. At first it doesn’t look like it will happen with some slice balls. But then Popyrin takes the initiative, marches forward and plays the backhand flying ball. Korda counters with the cross-played backhand passing ball, but it lands just outside the out.
03:21
Popyrin – Korda 4:4
Korda scores four points in a row and experiences a comparatively relaxed service game to 4:4.
03:20
Popyrin – Korda 4:3
A little later, Korda hits the felt ball even better with his backhand, pulling it perfectly down the line.
03:18
Popyrin – Korda 4:3
We must not forget that both players played their quarter-finals just a few hours ago. Perhaps that explains Korda’s next double fault.
03:16
Popyrin – Korda 4:3
Popyrin misses two match balls and now has to struggle through deuce for the second time. But then the Australian scores two points in a row and wins the game 4:3.
03:14
Popyrin – Korda 3:3
The question will be who will be the first to bring consistency to their own game and reduce the risk of errors. Only then will the level of this match be able to rise. Up to this point, it has been a poor performance.
03:14
Popyrin – Korda 3:3
At the moment, both players are apparently trying to outdo each other when it comes to minor errors. Popyrin’s third double fault fits the picture.
03:12
Popyrin – Korda 3:3
Neither of them finds a stable form here. Korda offers another break point with another big mistake. Then there is a better rally – until Korda’s forehand goes too long. Popyrin gets the break back and makes it 3:3.
03:10
Popyrin – Korda 2:3
Popyrin gives away a break point. Korda then has to go over the second, but the Australian falls short in the following rally. Korda immediately moves forward and scores with a backhand volley. Deuce!
03:09
Popyrin – Korda 2:3
In response, Korda fires the first ace of the match. But shortly afterwards, the 24-year-old misses a backhand unnecessarily and offers two chances to re-break.
03:08
Popyrin – Korda 2:3
The Court Central, which had been cleared in the meantime, is now very well filled again. Numerous tennis fans do not want to miss the second semi-final shortly after 9:00 p.m. local time. And they are just witnessing Korda’s first double fault. 0:30!
03:06
Popyrin – Korda 2:3
Popyrin then scores two points with clever serves, holds his serve and reduces the score to 2:3.
03:04
Popyrin – Repeat 1:3
Popyrin isn’t doing very well. Now the Australian takes the initiative, moves up well, but then unnecessarily smashes his forehand out. Then Korda conjures up a return winner with his forehand. 30 both!
03:01
Popyrin – Repeat 1:3
In the following service game, Korda has little trouble confirming his break. The American quickly gets two match points and uses the first one straight away because his opponent helps with a forehand error.
02:59
Popyrin – Repeat 1:2
The forehand then lands with a lot more power. That gives Korda the third break point. And the 24-year-old then takes advantage of it. The American gets a good length, takes control and finally pulls his backhand cleanly down the line. That’s the break!
02:57
Popyrin – Korda 1:1
Korda throws away the break chance with a slight mistake. Shortly afterwards, Popyrin has match point. And now the American manages the first winner – in front of the net with a fine forehand volley stop.
02:56
Popyrin – Korda 1:1
Popyrin impressively squanders this break chance with a sensitive forehand stop. But the next forehand error is not far away. And so another break opportunity opens up for his opponent.
02:54
Popyrin – Korda 1:1
And just seconds later, Korda delivers a good return to Popyrin’s feet on his opponent’s second serve and organizes the first break point.
02:53
Popyrin – Korda 1:1
A little later, the forehand also lands inside-out. At least the Australian seems to be gradually gaining momentum. But then his backhand slice sails just out of bounds. 30 both!
02:52
Popyrin – Korda 1:1
Then the moment has come. Popyrin puts pressure on, moves to the forehand and sinks it inside-in. That is the first winner of this game.
02:51
Popyrin – Korda 1:1
In this case too, the pendulum swings in favor of the server. Popyrin is unable to even begin to return the ball. And so Korda equalizes at 1:1.
02:49
Popyrin – Korda 1:0
The match is mainly characterized by short rallies and mistakes. We haven’t seen a winning shot yet. The American’s mishit backhand fits in with that. 15:30!
02:48
Popyrin – Korda 1:0
Korda’s net gets in his way three times in a row. When it happens a fourth time on a backhand return, Popyrin scores the fourth point in a row and wins the game after 0:30.
02:47
Popyrin – Korda 0:0
Then Popyrin makes a double fault. At least the Australian manages to score the first point with a good first serve. And the pattern repeats itself.
02:45
1st sentence
Now Popyrin opens the match and has to serve the second serve. A long rally develops until Popyrin hits an inside-out forehand just wide of the line.
02:37
Entry and coin toss
At this moment, our protagonists enter the Central Court. After a few preparations, they meet at the net with the Spanish chair umpire Nacho Forcadell to vote. The coin falls in favor of the American, who decides to serve. Then both players warm up a bit.
02:33
Head 2 Head
This is the third time that the two players, who are just under a year apart in age, have faced each other in an official tennis match. The first duel took place in 2020 at a Challenger in Eckental in Middle Franconia and went to Korda in two sets. The American also had the edge in the second meeting in Astana in 2023, but the score was considerably closer at 7:6, 6:7, 6:4.
02:22
Repeat in Canada
This is Korda’s second time taking part in the National Bank Open. The American made his first start twelve months ago, but was eliminated in the second round. This year he has been lucky with injuries to his opponents. In the opening match, Canadian Vasek Pospisil had to give up early in the first set. Korda then eliminated ninth-seeded Taylor Fritz in two sets. And then did not even have to play against Norwegian Casper Ruud because Ruud withdrew. This was followed in the afternoon local time by a three-set victory against second-seeded Alexander Zverev, who was defeated in just under two and a half hours with 7:6, 1:6 and 6:4.
02:11
Shortly
Andrey Rublev made short work of Matteo Arnaldi, quickly defeating him 6:4, 6:2. This means that Court Central will soon be free for our match. So it can’t be long now.
02:04
delay
Meanwhile, play has resumed in Montreal after the heavy rain. Andrey Rublev and Matteo Arnaldi are still playing in the first semifinal on Court Central and are in the second set. So for us, things could start at around 2:30 a.m. CEST.
01:53
Two titles for Korda
Korda is currently ranked 18th in the world and has never been higher, but will continue to improve, having already moved up three places in the live rankings. The American is in a Masters semifinal for the second time after Shanghai 2023, and last year he reached the quarterfinals at the Australian Open, his best major result. The right-hander also has two career titles to his name, but he needed eight finals to reach them. The 24-year-old played two of these finals this year, losing on grass in Rosmalen and recently winning his most valuable title at the 500 in Washington – at the place where his father Petr lifted the trophy in 1992. Korda was also the 2018 Australian Open junior champion.
01:42
Two-time tournament winner
Now Popyrin is in the semifinals of a Masters tournament for the first time. His best 1,000 result to date was the quarterfinals in 2023 in Cincinnati. At Grand Slam level, the right-hander never got past the third round. The Australian did reach two finals on the ATP tour and won both – in Singapore in 2021 and in Umag, Croatia in 2023. In the juniors, Popyrin won the French Open in 2017. During this season he was in the semifinals of the 250s in Doha. In February, the world number 62 was already number 38 and is now back in the top 40 in the live rankings.
01:31
Popyrin in Kanada
Both professionals had to play a few hours ago. Popyrin had a three-set match against Hubert Hurkacz, working hard for almost three hours to win 3:6, 7:6, 7:5. The Australian had previously defeated the Czech Tomáš Macháč and the eleventh-seeded American Ben Shelton in two sets and the Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov, number seven in the seed list, in three sets. The 25-year-old has not lost a single main draw match in this tournament, which takes place alternately in Montreal and Toronto, but this year is his first time taking part. Popyrin had previously failed in qualifying in 2019, 2021 and 2022.
01:20
Regen in Montréal
After there were problems with the weather in the province of Quebec on Friday, which caused a delay that meant that our protagonists had to play their quarter-final and semi-final matches on the same day, play has also come to a standstill at the moment. It is raining heavily, which is why the first duel of the semi-final had to be interrupted.
01:08
Welcome
Welcome to the National Bank Open! The second semi-final is on the program at the Masters tournament in Montreal. Alexei Popyrin and Sebastian Korda are scheduled to face each other at around 2:00 a.m. CEST.
