Will Jessica Pegula successfully defend the National Bank Open women’s championship or will Amanda Anisimova continue her impressive week to claim her first WTA 1000 title?
Pegula and Anisimova face off in an all-American final Monday night at Sobeys Stadium in Toronto.
They’ve met twice before with Pegula winning both matches, although their most recent contest earlier this year at the Charleston Open went the distance and was decided in a third-set tiebreak.
Pegula has been nearly unstoppable north of the border with a career 16-2 main-draw record at the National Bank Open. She is looking to become the first women’s player to win consecutive titles in Montreal and Toronto since Martina Hingis in 1999 and 2000.
The 30-year-old from Buffalo, ranked sixth in the world, hasn’t dropped a set this week and defeated Diana Shnaider 6-4, 6-3 during Sunday’s semifinals to make a return trip to the championship match.
Never mind the title, Anisimova is playing in her first-ever WTA 1000 final period and at No. 132 is the lowest-ranked finalist in the tournament in 40 years.
The 22-year-old from Freehold, N.J., was ranked as high as 21st in 2019 — the same year she was a semifinalist at the French Open — before taking a break from the sport due to mental health reasons.
Anisimova has been on a roll upsetting the likes of No. 12 Daria Kasatkina, No. 17 Anna Kalinskaya and No. 3 Aryna Sabalenka. She defeated her fourth top 20 opponent of the week edging No. 15 Emma Navarro 6-3, 2-6, 6-2 during the semifinals.
Anisimova’s incredible run this week already guarantees her a spot back in the top 50 but a title victory will bump her into the top 40.
Meanwhile, Andrey Rublev meets Alexei Popyrin in the men’s final in Montreal.
Rublev, ranked sixth in the world, has won two ATP Masters 1000 titles including this year’s Madrid Open where he defeated Canada’s Félix Auger-Aliassime in the final. However, Rublev is 0-2 in finals on hard court with both of his title wins on clay.
The 26-year-old from Moscow stunned world No. 1 and defending champion Jannik Sinner 6-3, 1-6, 6-2 during the quarterfinals and topped Matteo Arnaldi 6-4, 6-2 in the semis. Play was suspended during the second set tied 1-1 due to rain, and Rublev returned to the court to take five of the final six games of the match.
Popyrin, 32nd in the rankings, has two title wins at the 250 level.
The 25-year-old from Sydney, Australia, needed three sets to rally past Grigor Dimitrov in the round of 16 and Hubert Hurkacz in the quarterfinals. He beat Sebastian Korda 7-6(0), 6-3 in the semis to reach his first ATP 1000 final.
It’ll be a head-to-head rubber match as they’ve faced twice previously with each scoring a win. Popyrin defeated Rublev on clay during the first round of Monte Carlo earlier this year. Rublev’s victory was indoors on hard court in Vienna last season.
Watch the National Bank Open women’s final live on Sportsnet and Sportsnet+ starting at 6 p.m. ET / 3 p.m. PT with the men’s final on Sportsnet ONE and Sportsnet+ at 7:30 p.m. ET / 4:30 p.m. PT.