Pablo Carreno Busta has described his upcoming match in the final of the Canadian Masters as one of the most important of his career.
The world No.23 will play in his first-ever Masters 1000 final at the age of 31 after ousting Dan Evans 7-5, 6-7 (7), 6-2, in a roller-coaster encounter. After taking the opening set, Carreno Busta recovered from a 0-3 deficit early on in the second. Then in the tiebreaker he worked his way to his first match point but failed to convert, paving way for Evans to draw level. Despite the blip, he managed to secure the win with the help of a four-game winning streak in the decider.
“It was very important to continue fighting all the time. I know that Evans is a great opponent. It’s really tough to play against him. He has a very, very good backhand slice and it is not comfortable playing against him,” Carreno Busta said afterwards.
“I’m happy because it is very important for me and my confidence to be in the final.”
This week is the 52nd time Carreno Busta has played in the main draw of a Masters 1000 event. Until now, his best performances at these events were reaching the semi-finals of the 2017 Indian Wells Masters and 2018 Miami Open Masters. He is also a two-time semi-finalist at the US Open.
“It’s probably one of the most important matches of my career, fighting for a title, fighting for a Masters 1000 title,” he said.
“Probably this year I didn’t play my best tennis, so it’s very important to be in the final. I will try to do my best to win it.”
Carreno Busta has recorded a win-loss record of 27-17 so far this season and also reached the final of the Barcelona Open before losing to Carlos Alcaraz.
Standing in his way of the title will be Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz who came back from a set down to defeat Casper Ruud 5-7, 6-3, 6-2. It is the second time the world No.10 has reached a Masters 1000 final after winning the Miami title last year.
“Casper was playing really well. He was the better player for the first half of the match. Definitely he was playing better than me. I was just searching to find a way,” said Hurkacz.
When asked about how he managed to turn his fortunes around, the eighth seed said his serve proved vital.
“I think just staying aggressive, searching for opportunities, just trying to take every single opportunity to get ahead in the rally and make him uncomfortable. Obviously, my serve helped at the end.” He explained.
Carreno Busta has played Hurkacz twice on the Tour last year with their head-to-head split at 1-1. He won their encounter in Cincinnati before losing in Metz.
