Two weeks before the US Open (August 29-September 11), where he reached the semi-finals twice in 2017 and 2020, and on a North American cement which is decidedly successful for him, the native of Gijon holds the form.

"It's an incredible feeling to be a winner of a tournament of this category", just below the Grand Slams, reacted Carreño, who now has seven titles to his name.

"It's the best title of my career, that's for sure. It's not my best season though. I lost a few games that I probably wouldn't have lost in other years. But I just tried to keep believing in me and my game," he added.

For the Canada Open, his victory bears the seal of rarity, as he became the first unseeded player to win there since Argentina's Guillermo Canas in 2002.

Faced with Hurkacz, who remained on five victories in as many disputed finals (including the one which revealed him at the Masters 1000 in Miami last year), Carreño did not necessarily start out as the favorite.

The two men had previously faced each other twice.

The Spaniard had won the first in the round of 16 of the Cincinnati Masters 1000 in 2019, but lost the second in the final of the Metz tournament in 2021.

On Sunday, Hurkacz took the lead from the start, perhaps benefiting from his experience at this level of competition.

His opponent was indeed playing for the first time in his career a final of a Masters 1000, which is the best after the four Grand Slam tournaments.

Helpless Hurkacz

Untouchable, he was never worried about his commitment by his opponent and, without seeming to force, put him under more and more pressure to break it 4-2.

Clinically, the Pole pocketed the first set in half an hour.

Things seemed to be off to a bad start for the Spaniard, but that was without counting on his self-sacrifice.

He reacted very well in the second set, also taking advantage of a sudden drop in speed in the service of his rival, to break the entry.

But above all, he considerably raised his level of play, often overflowing Hurkacz to logically equalize at one set everywhere.

And he did not stop there, to the chagrin of the Pole, frustrated and without solution in the exchanges, without the slightest break point in the second and third sets.

Winner in 1h47, Carreño exulted after converting his first match point.

The Spaniard, whose main feat so far was winning the Olympic bronze medal last year at the expense of Novak Djokovic, could savor.

As for Hurkacz, he wanted to be as fair-play as he was a philosopher, after his first loss in a final.

"Maybe I didn't serve as well as I could have. But Pablo really deserved to win today. It was tough, he played really, really well throughout the game. But I I had a good tournament, during which I improved a lot. I will learn a lot from this week and move on to the next one".

© 2022 AFP