On Sunday in Toronto, Simona Halep plays for her third title at this event. She faces a surging 26-year-old in Beatriz Haddad Maia, who has already defeated four top 15 players this week, including world No.1 Iga Swiatek.
In Montreal, Hubi Hurkacz is vying for his second Masters 1000 title, after winning his first last year in Miami. In Sunday’s championship match, he plays Pablo Carreno Busta, who at 31-years-old has reached his first Masters 1000 final in his 52nd appearance.
Beatriz Haddad Maia vs. Simona Halep (15) – 1:30pm on Centre Court in Toronto
What a season Haddad Maia is having. She started the year ranked 83rd in the world, but with 43 match wins and three titles at all levels, she will debut inside the top 16 on Monday. She is the first Brazilian to reach a WTA 1000 singles final. Beatriz credits her 2022 success to focusing on being more aggressive. But Halep is a player who has achieved much success by absorbing her opponents’ power and using it against them. And after a solid yet underwhelming season, Simona says her fire is back this week in Toronto. This will be her fourth meeting with Haddad Maia, and her third this year. She leads Beatriz 2-1, though they split their two 2022 encounters. In a match of this magnitude, which is new territory for Haddad Maia, Halep’s experience and more consistent style make her the favorite to win her third title in Canada.
Hubert Hurkacz (8) vs. Pablo Carreno Busta – Not Before 4:00pm on Court Central in Montreal
Hubi’s path to this final has been a complicated one. All four of his matches went the distance, and he even had to save a match point against Albert Ramos-Vinolas. Meanwhile, Pablo had advanced to his first Masters 1000 final rather decisively, only dropping one set to this stage. Hurkacz and Carreno Busta are 1-1 at tour level, as each earned a hard court victory over the other last year. Three of the four sets they contested were decided by tiebreaks, which is not surprising given their contrasting styles. Hubi will look to dictate matters with his serve, while Pablo will look to extend points and force Hurkacz into long baseline rallies. However, Hubi often doesn’t mind participating in long rallies. As impressive as Carreno Busta’s level has been this week, Hurkacz has been the better player this season. Hubi’s serve and powerful groundstrokes make him a slight favorite to win his second Masters 1000 crown.
Other Notable Matches on Sunday:
Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula (3) vs. Nicole Melichar-Martinez and Ellen Perez – Gauff and Pegula were finalists this year at Roland Garros. If they win on Sunday, Gauff will become the new world No.1 in doubles, and be the youngest player to do so since Martina Hingis. Melichar-Martinez and Perez have already defeated three seeded teams this week.
Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski (3) vs. Dan Evans and John Peers – Koolhof and Skupski lead the year-to-date doubles rankings, and are playing for their sixth title of the season. This is only the second event in 2022 for Evans and Peers as a team. Evans was also a semifinalist this week in singles.
Sunday’s full Order of Play is here.
