“This means so much, it means the world,” Popyrin said. “All the hard work we’ve put in over the last couple of years has paid off.

“Everyone around me has sacrificed so much of their lives for me. For me to win this for them is amazing.”

The 25-year-old tennis player registered five consecutive wins over the top 20 players en route to winning the title in Montreal.

Popyrin defeated the then world No. 40 Tomas Machac of Czechia in the round of 64 and world No. 14 Ben Shelton of the USA in the second round.

Against Bulgaria’s world No. 10 Grigor Dimitrov in the third round, Popyrin saved three match points to set up a quarter-final clash with seventh-ranked Hubert Hurkacz of Poland. Popyrin lost the first set against Hurkacz and had a break in the second before the Aussie won the third set 7-5.

In the semi-finals, Popyrin got the better of USA’s world No. 18 Sebastian Korda 7-6, 6-3, ending the American’s nine-match winning streak.