The 5 lowest-ranked Masters 1000 winners of all time – ft. Canadian Open champion Alexei Popyrin
You would be hard-pressed to find anyone who predicted Alexei Popyrin to win the Canadian Open title.
The Australian entered the draw as the world No 62, though has shocked the tennis world with an incredible triumph, storming through a tricky draw for the biggest win of his career.
Popyrin is now one of the lowest-ranked Masters 1000 champions of all time – but where exactly does he sit?
We look back at the five men who have defied more odds than most to claim some of the biggest titles in tennis.
5) Chris Woodruff – World No 57, 1997 Canadian Open
The first of three Canadian Open winners on this list, world No 57 Woodruff picked up the biggest title of his career in Montreal 27 years ago.
After progressing into round three, the US star shocked second seed Goran Ivanisevic before picking up another significant win over seventh seed Mark Philippoussis to reach the semi-final.
Woodruff continued his stunning run with a three-set semi-final victory over fourth seed Yevgeny Kafelnikov – before downing fifth seed Gustavo Kuerten in the final.
That was the first of two ATP titles for Woodruff, who reached a career-high of 29th shortly after his Montreal heroics.
4) Alexei Popyrin – World No 62, 2024 Canadian Open
Popyrin finds himself fourth on this list after a career-best week in Montreal.
Starting the tournament as the world No 62, the Australian downed Tomas Machac in round one before beating 14th seed Ben Shelton.
The 25-year-old then saved a match point to battle past seventh seed Grigor Dimitrov and rallied from a set down to beat fourth seed Hubert Hurkacz in the last eight.
Popyrin then saw off the in-form Sebastian Korda to reach the final, where he downed fifth seed Andrey Rublev convincingly for his third career title.
Victory in Montreal has skyrocketed Popyrin up to a new high of 23rd.
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3) Mikael Pernfors – World No 95, 1993 Canadian Open
A former world No 10 and 1986 French Open runner-up, Pernfors was 95th in the rankings heading into the 1993 Canadian Open.
After breezing through his first two matches the Swedish star sent out a statement of intent in round three, dispatching second seed Jim Courier for the loss of just five games.
That was followed by straight-set triumphs over eighth seed Alexander Volkov and sixth seed Petr Korda to reach the final, where he rallied from a set down to beat 13th seed Todd Martin.
It was a third and final career title for Pernfors, five years after winning his first two titles in 1988.
2) Roberto Carretero – World No 143, 1996 Hamburg Open
Regarding name recognition, Carretero may be the most surprising Masters 1000 champion – and victory at the 1996 Hamburg Open makes him the second-lowest ranked man to win such an event.
The world No 143 came through qualifying to reach the main draw and defeated 10th seed MaliVai Washington, and then seventh seed Arnaud Boetsch, to reach the last eight.
Carretero rallied from a set down to beat 16th seed Gilbert Schaller in the last eight, before a stunning straight-sets victory over third seed Kafelnikov.
He then beat fellow Spaniard Alex Corretja in his first and only ATP final, reaching a career-high of 58th after the tournament.
1) Borna Coric – World No 152, 2022 Cincinnati Open
No man in history has won a Masters 1000 at a lower ranking than Coric, who was down at 152nd when he stormed to the Cincinnati title two years ago.
After a lengthy spell on the sidelines due to injury the Croatian used a protected ranking to enter the tournament, beating Lorenzo Musetti in round one – before stunning second seed Rafael Nadal in round two.
The Croatian backed that up with victory over 15th seed Roberto Bautista Agut in round three, before reaching the last four after a win versus seventh seed Felix Auger-Aliassime.
Coric continued his excellent week by downing ninth seed Cameron Norrie in their semi-final, before defeating fourth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final.
It was Coric’s third ATP title, and to date remains his most recent victory on tour.
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