Rublev Advances to National Bank Open Final Amid Rain Delays

Andrey Rublev, a 26-year-old Russian tennis player, defeated Matteo Arnaldi in the National Bank Open semifinals after a rain delay. He will face Alexei Popyrin in the final. Popyrin triumphed over Sebastian Korda. Earlier, rain had significantly delayed the tournament schedule.

Fifth-seeded Andrey Rublev triumphed over Matteo Arnaldi with a score of 6-4, 6-2 in the National Bank Open semifinals, despite a rain delay early in the second set.

The 26-year-old Russian, who has claimed victories in Madrid and Hong Kong this year, will now face Australia's Alexei Popyrin in the final. Popyrin, for his part, overcame American Sebastian Korda with scores of 7-6 (0), 6-3.

'The wait has been worth it,' Rublev remarked regarding the 1 hour, 40-minute rain delay at 1-1 in the second set. 'I'm happy to be in my first Canadian final. I just want to recover, rest well and be ready for tomorrow.' Rublev previously defeated top-seeded Jannik Sinner, while Arnaldi, from Italy, reached his first Masters 1000-level semifinal.

Earlier on Sunday, in the quarterfinals, Popyrin defeated fourth-seeded Hubert Hurkacz 3-6, 7-6 (5), 7-5, and Korda overcame second-seeded Alexander Zverev 7-6 (5), 1-6, 6-4. Popyrin rallied to beat Hurkacz after being two points away from defeat, and then shut out Korda in the first-set tiebreaker.

'It's an amazing achievement for myself to be honest, and sometimes you have to pat yourself on the back,' Popyrin commented on reaching the final. 'I'll do that tonight, but tomorrow it's all hands on deck and back to work.' Heavy rain from Tropical Storm Debby caused significant delays, washing out play Thursday night and all of Friday, putting the event behind schedule.