Pablo Carreno Busta thinks the 2022 season may be one of the worst seasons of his career. But he no longer thinks like that after playing the Canadian Open (Rogers Cup) in Montreal.
The unseeded player turned the 2022 season around by winning the Masters 1000 title for the first time in her career after knocking out eighth seed Hubert Hurkacz 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 in the Canadian Open final for her seventh career title.
“It’s an amazing feeling to win the Masters 1000 tournament,” said Pablo Carreno Busta. “It’s the best title of my career, for sure and I don’t know how I feel about this moment.”
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“I know that throughout the week we have to play extra hard, also the previous weeks. It’s important to think very positively at all times. This season has not been my best season. I lost some games maybe in other seasons I didn’t lose those games but I try to keep believing in my team, myself and my game.”
The 31-year-old fought extra hard in the Canadian Open final by stepping up his attack and taking control of the game in the final two sets. After gaining momentum by getting a break in the second set, the Spaniard had a golden opportunity in the third game of the third set as he drew closer to a historic win. He sealed the win after converting his third break point opportunity of the match.
“I lost the first set, only one chance to break. But when you play against a player like that who has really good serve, it’s really hard to defend,” admitted Carreno Busta.
“But I just kept believing, because I knew I was playing better and better. I tried to be aggressive with my serve and I was able to get two break opportunities, enough to be champion.”
The Canadian Open title was the reward for a wonderful week for the Spaniard, including after causing a straight sets loss against Italian greats Matteo Berrettini and Jannik Sinner before beating Poland’s Hurkacz in the final. Thanks to victory in the final, he is now 28-17 and claiming his first title of the season. He became the sixth Spaniard to claim an ATP tournament title this season.
Hurkacz won four matches in three sets to reach the Canadian Open final in Montreal this season, but he couldn’t repeat that feat against Carreno Busta who hasn’t dropped a set in the last two rounds.
