He overcame a slow start to a 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 victory over eighth seed Hubert Hurkacz of Poland to win a Masters 1000 title for the first time in his career.
“It’s an amazing feeling,” he said. “I worked very, very hard (throughout) my career to finally be here.”
Steady shooting and overall consistency were the difference in a final that went early in the second set. A Hurkacz double fault and three missed forehands gave Carreno Busta a 2-0 lead and momentum heading into the deciding set.
He won another early break in the third which forced Hurkacz to press more often. The Pole held an 18-4 lead in aces, but Carreno Busta attacked on his second serve and broke him again to end the match in one hour and 45 minutes.
“It’s the little things that make a big difference,” Hurkacz said. “If you don’t make your first serves and with Pablo making some good returns, then you’re under a lot of pressure.”
Carreno Busta became the first player to remain unbeaten in this tournament since Argentina’s Guillermo Canas in 2002.
It was the seventh ATP Tour title of his career.
“It’s not the first, but it’s definitely the most important,” Carreno Busta said. “It’s a Masters 1000. It’s a big thing to win titles like that.”
The sellout crowd of 11,715 at the IGA Stadium was also treated to one of the tournament’s standout rallies. The third set point went the way of Carreno Busta and Hurkacz never recovered.
After a series of groundouts, Carreno Busta came to the net and hit a deep shot that a sprawling Hurkacz sent into the back corner.
The Spaniard managed to chase it down and skied a desperation floater that landed just inside the line. Hurkacz couldn’t put away an overhead shot and Carreno Busta found himself back in the rally.
Carreno Busta was soon back at the net for a drop that Hurkacz called on the backhand side. Carreno Busta capped the comeback with a leaping backhand putaway that electrified the crowd.
The Spaniard held his arms out as he received a standing ovation. Hurkacz dropped his racket on the hard court in frustration.
“I think it was an incredible point,” Carreno Busta said. “It’s only one point, but it was very, very good for confidence.”
Hurkacz, who won his first Masters 1000 title last year in Miami, fell to 5-1 in ATP Tour finals. 23rd-ranked Carreno Busta improved to 7-5 in final appearances.
The Spaniard upset No. 11 Matteo Berretini in the first round and took out another Italian in No. 7 Yannick Sinner in the third round. Carreno Busta didn’t drop a set until he was knocked out by the distance against Great Britain’s Daniel Evans in the semi-finals.
“My game during the week was very, very high,” Carreno Busta said. “I played really (well) from the first match against Berrettini to the last one against Hubie.”
Hurkacz had his power play working early on a glorious midsummer afternoon.
He led all players in aces this week and his serve was back on form as he controlled the first set in a tidy 31 minutes. But Carreno Busta picked up his pace and seemed to understand Hurkacz’s game.
Carreno Busta couldn’t match the power of Hurkacz’s serve – few players can – but his quality placement and fine touch on his volleys proved effective.
Carreno Busta earned $915,295 out of a total purse of $6.57 million. Hurkacz took home $499,830 as a finalist.
In the doubles final, the third pair of Dutch Wesley Koolhof and Britain’s Neal Skupski defeated Australia’s Evans and John Peers 6-2, 4-6, 10-6.
Organizers said a total of 237,733 spectators took in the action during the week, a men’s tournament record at this venue. The previous high of 223,023 was set in 2019, the last time this event was held at full capacity.
American Reilly Opelka reached last year’s final in Toronto before losing to top seed Daniil Medvedev of Russia.
The men’s tournament will be held next year in Toronto and the women’s WTA Tour will return to Montreal.
