Alexei Popyrin’s victory against Novak Djokovic at the US Open may have come as a seismic shock to many, but it did not come as a huge surprise to the man himself.
Popyrin believes that his big-hitting game has always had the potential to trouble the game’s elite. Rather, stringing high-level performances together consistently has been the challenge for the 25-year-old, whose straight-sets victory against Djokovic inside Arthur Ashe Stadium came just 18 days after he earned a stunning maiden ATP Masters 1000 title in Montreal.
“For me, winning Montreal was way bigger than today, just because it's a title, and it's a Masters 1000 title,” reflected Popyrin after his 6-4, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 win against Djokovic on Friday night. “That felt unbelievable. Today was something that I kind of thought I could do, you know? Winning a Masters 1000 was not something that kind of crossed my head.
“My two experiences against [Djokovic] earlier this year at the Australian Open and Wimbledon kind of gave me the confidence to go out there tonight and believe that I could win, and actually do it and believe it. So when I did it, it kind of felt that proved me right, proved what I was thinking was right. It wasn't something that was unbelievable.”
Having pushed Djokovic to four sets earlier this year at both the Australian Open and Wimbledon, Popyrin was delighted with the way he improved mentally to get over the line this time around.
“It was a pretty solid performance from my side,” said the Australian. “Honestly, I said before the match that the last two matches that I had, I didn't take my chances, and today I managed to take my chances.
“I would say level-wise it probably wasn't the highest level. I think because I have had some matches where I have played and felt way better than I felt out there today. I think the way I composed myself and the way I tactically played the match, that was up there with one of the best matches that I have played.”
As fans who followed his exploits in Montreal earlier this month will know, Popyrin is a charismatic on-court presence who appears to thrive in big atmospheres. That was certainly the case on Friday, when it may not have been obvious to onlookers that the Australian was making his debut inside the largest tennis stadium in the world.
“I stepped out on Arthur Ashe about 20 minutes before the actual match and that was the first time I have ever been on Arthur Ashe, just to kind of get a gauge of how the stadium looked and how big it was,” said Popyrin. “The crowd was amazing. They kind of stepped up. When I hit those passing shots, it was quite amazing to feel the crowd on my side. I managed to kind of win them over towards the end of the match, which was amazing.”
Popyrin can expect an equally vibrant atmosphere for his next match, when he takes on home favourite and 2022 semi-finalist Frances Tiafoe in the fourth round. Although the two players know each other well. it will be their maiden Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting. Popyrin returned to his career-high No. 23 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings by beating Djokovic and will crack the Top 20 if he takes out Tiafoe.
“He's actually a really good friend of mine,” said Popyrin of Tiafoe. “We get along really well off the court. It will be interesting to play against him. We have practised a bunch of times. He's a very tricky player. Probably has one of the best hands on Tour, comes into the net a lot, likes to mix it up. That's going to be the tough part.
“Honestly, playing Frances will be quite an experience because there has been a few times where I have kind of lost the round before having to play Frances, and he's always telling me, ‘Man, why do you keep losing before we play each other?’ Luckily this time I was able to do it and hopefully it will be a good match.”
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Popyrin believes that his big-hitting game has always had the potential to trouble the game’s elite. Rather, stringing high-level performances together consistently has been the challenge for the 25-year-old, whose straight-sets victory against Djokovic inside Arthur Ashe Stadium came just 18 days after he earned a stunning maiden ATP Masters 1000 title in Montreal.
“For me, winning Montreal was way bigger than today, just because it's a title, and it's a Masters 1000 title,” reflected Popyrin after his 6-4, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 win against Djokovic on Friday night. “That felt unbelievable. Today was something that I kind of thought I could do, you know? Winning a Masters 1000 was not something that kind of crossed my head.
“My two experiences against [Djokovic] earlier this year at the Australian Open and Wimbledon kind of gave me the confidence to go out there tonight and believe that I could win, and actually do it and believe it. So when I did it, it kind of felt that proved me right, proved what I was thinking was right. It wasn't something that was unbelievable.”
Having pushed Djokovic to four sets earlier this year at both the Australian Open and Wimbledon, Popyrin was delighted with the way he improved mentally to get over the line this time around.
“It was a pretty solid performance from my side,” said the Australian. “Honestly, I said before the match that the last two matches that I had, I didn't take my chances, and today I managed to take my chances.
“I would say level-wise it probably wasn't the highest level. I think because I have had some matches where I have played and felt way better than I felt out there today. I think the way I composed myself and the way I tactically played the match, that was up there with one of the best matches that I have played.”
As fans who followed his exploits in Montreal earlier this month will know, Popyrin is a charismatic on-court presence who appears to thrive in big atmospheres. That was certainly the case on Friday, when it may not have been obvious to onlookers that the Australian was making his debut inside the largest tennis stadium in the world.
“I stepped out on Arthur Ashe about 20 minutes before the actual match and that was the first time I have ever been on Arthur Ashe, just to kind of get a gauge of how the stadium looked and how big it was,” said Popyrin. “The crowd was amazing. They kind of stepped up. When I hit those passing shots, it was quite amazing to feel the crowd on my side. I managed to kind of win them over towards the end of the match, which was amazing.”
Get to know @AlexeiPopyrin99 as he reflects on success and New York memories
— ATP Tour (@atptour) August 31, 2024
Popyrin can expect an equally vibrant atmosphere for his next match, when he takes on home favourite and 2022 semi-finalist Frances Tiafoe in the fourth round. Although the two players know each other well. it will be their maiden Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting. Popyrin returned to his career-high No. 23 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings by beating Djokovic and will crack the Top 20 if he takes out Tiafoe.
“He's actually a really good friend of mine,” said Popyrin of Tiafoe. “We get along really well off the court. It will be interesting to play against him. We have practised a bunch of times. He's a very tricky player. Probably has one of the best hands on Tour, comes into the net a lot, likes to mix it up. That's going to be the tough part.
“Honestly, playing Frances will be quite an experience because there has been a few times where I have kind of lost the round before having to play Frances, and he's always telling me, ‘Man, why do you keep losing before we play each other?’ Luckily this time I was able to do it and hopefully it will be a good match.”
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