Alexei Popyrin

[arti]

Another 19-year-old making waves at Melbourne Park, Australian wild card Alexei Popyrin, also booked his place in the third round for the first time on his second Grand Slam championship appearance (also 2018 Australian Open). The World No. 149, who beat Germany’s Mischa Zverev on Tuesday, was leading 7-5, 6-4, 2-0 when seventh-seeded Austrian Dominic Thiem retired due to illness.

Popyrin will now prepare to challenge French No. 28 seed Lucas Pouille, who knocked out Maximilian Marterer of Germany 7-6(8), 7-6(8), 5-7, 6-4 in three hours and 22 minutes. Pouille saved one set point at 6/7 in the first set tie-break and two set points at 5/6 and 7/8 in the second set tie-break.

“It’s never easy seeing an opponent retire like that, especially Domi,” said Popyrin. “He's a great guy. But I was just trying to keep focused, just trying to keep concentrated in the match [and] play my game… It hasn't sunk in yet [that I’m in the third round]. I'm just going to keep looking forward, just preparing for the next round… I didn't really feel much pressure, to be honest. I just wanted to go out there and enjoy the moment, just soak in the experience really. The crowd was amazing, like always.”

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/shapova ... -open-2019

[grzes430]

III runda AO19

122 Ričardas Berankis 456
123 Alexei Popyrin 450
124 Adrián Menéndez-Maceiras 444

[DUN I LOVE]

Dostał dziką kartę i nie zmarnował szansy.

[arti]

[Lucas]

[Damian]

28.01.2019

Najwyższy ranking w karierze: 124

[arti]

11.02.2019 - najwyższy ranking w karierze: 123

[arti]

[arti]

IW19 R1:

118 Grégoire Barrère 485
119 Alexei Popyrin 479
120 Jozef Kovalík 478

[arti]

Popyrin scored his first ATP Masters 1000 match win, ousting Jaume Munar 7-6(7), 6-3 on Stadium 5. Munar did well to break the Aussie when he was serving for the match at 5-2, but Popyrin answered in kind with a break back for the victory. He prevailed after one hour and 48 minutes.

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/indian- ... ay-popyrin

[arti]

Popyrin: From In The Crowd To Under The Spotlight

Spoiler:

On 20 January 2008, Lleyton Hewitt defeated Marcos Baghdatis in a five-set marathon at the Australian Open that ended at 4:33 a.m. That clash remains the latest finish to a match in history.
In the crowd that early morning inside Rod Laver Arena was eight-year-old Alexei Popyrin. The youngster couldn’t make it to the fifth set, nearly falling asleep before getting taken home by his parents.
Eleven years later, Popyrin was the one on a big stage at the year’s first major. The #NextGenATP Aussie entered the tournament with just one tour-level win to his name.
But after defeating veteran Mischa Zverev and Top 10 staple Dominic Thiem, he had the full force of the Margaret Court Arena crowd behind him as he recovered from a two-set deficit to force a decider against eventual semi-finalist Lucas Pouille. The 19-year-old was unable to complete the comeback, but it became clear that Popyrin is not afraid of competing under the spotlight.
"It was fantastic for him to get the win at the Australian Open in the first round against Mischa Zverev. But it was how he wasn’t completely happy with that: he wanted to keep going," said Hewitt. "Against Dominic Thiem on Melbourne Arena, which is one of the biggest courts at the Australian Open, for him to go out and play like he did was impressive. That’s now the belief that he can have, that he can match up with these guys, so that’s where he’s going to grow as a player."
“It gives me more confidence to say that I can play with these players,” Popyrin said. “It definitely motivates me to keep working. Not that I need much motivation to keep working, but I’ve still got goals that I need to achieve.”
His confidence has been on display all week at the BNP Paribas Open. Popyrin qualified for his first ATP Masters 1000 main draw, and on Friday, he picked up his first win at the level, beating 2018 Next Gen ATP Finals semi-finalist Jaume Munar of Spain in straight sets.
"It definitely means a lot. Growing up watching these tournaments on TV, just to get my first Masters 1000 win is a great achievement for me," Popyrin told ATPTour.com.

Popyrin's rise has been sudden. This time last year, he was World No. 553, and he had played just four matches on the ATP Challenger Tour, losing them all. In August, he won his first title at that level.
Then, in October, he qualified for an ATP Tour event for the first time in Stockholm and claimed his maiden tour-level victory against Matthew Ebden in Basel, before challenging reigning Nitto ATP Finals champion Alexander Zverev in the second round.
Popyrin says that all of those moments last year helped him build more and more confidence so that he was ready for his moment in Melbourne and his breakthrough in Indian Wells. After his Melbourne run, the 19-year-old was being recognised on the street at home.
“Once I went out with a couple friends to dinner, and after dinner I had a few people stop me and take pictures with them on the street,” Popyrin said. “That was all a new experience for me. I liked it.”
“It was a pretty important experience for Alexei to have,” Rohan Williams, Popyrin’s coach, said of his pupil’s Australian Open run. “The match against Pouille on a Saturday night and playing in front of that crowd, the home crowd, is a pretty special feeling. Having a special moment like that is one thing, but he’s got 12, 15 years hopefully in tennis so as a step in his development, this is an important thing, to learn how to play on big stages, if he wants to get where he’s going.”
Popyrin reached a career-best No. 123 in the ATP Rankings last month. His immediate goal is to crack the Top 100. Another target is qualifying for the Next Gen ATP Finals, for which the Top 7 21-and-under players automatically qualify. In 2018, Popyrin finished 17th in the ATP Race To Milan.
“Hopefully this year I can really step it up and hopefully I can compete there,” Popyrin said.
In the first two years of the Next Gen ATP Finals, qualifiers have gone on to enjoy significant success. Six of the Top 30 players in the ATP Rankings have competed in Milan.
“I look at them and I get some inspiration. They went through this period that I’m in now fairly quickly. They jumped to the Top 100, Top 75, Top 50 and now they’re close to breaking into the Top 10, so I definitely look at them and I see their game,” Popyrin said. “They’re great tennis players, and I don’t see my game far off from their game. I think I’ve got the same level. Of course they’ve got a higher [ATP] Ranking, but the capability. I believe in myself.”
The Aussie’s dream is to become World No. 1 and lift multiple Grand Slam trophies. Only time will tell what is in store for the speaker of three languages (English, Russian and Spanish), but his weapons are clear: a big serve and a ferocious forehand. Popyrin says that more than anything, however, people should know that no matter whether those shots paint the lines or sail out, everything he has goes into being ready for the moment.
“I am hard-working. I give my all every time I step on the court,” Popyrin said. “It may not look like on court I give much effort with my shots and game style, but definitely outside the court with my recovery, my warm-ups and everything, I’m 100 per cent professional.”
At the New York Open last month, Popyrin played doubles with Hewitt. The former World No.1 has mentored the teenager since they met in 2017.
“He’s definitely someone who I look up to,” Popyrin said. “He’s one of the greats of the sport, of Aussie tennis also. It’s great to have Lleyton in my corner.”
Eleven years ago, when Hewitt was battling Baghdatis deep into the Melbourne morning, Popyrin was just another kid in the crowd. And now, not only is he rapidly improving on the ATP Tour, but he is being mentored by the legend who he was watching as a boy.
"It’s amazing," Popyrin said. "Just to be on the same court with him and on the same team is a dream come true."

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/next-ge ... march-2019

[Lleyton]

ATP Indian Wells: pierwszy wygrany mecz w turnieju M-1000.

[Q] Alexei Popyrin (AUS) d. Jaume Munar (ESP) 7-6(7) 6-3 Statystyki meczu

[DUN I LOVE]

Kolejny krok ku setce zrobiony. 117. w żywym rankingu jest teraz Australijczyk.

[Damian]

18.03.2019

Najwyższy ranking w karierze: 119

[Damian]

01.04.2019

Najwyższy ranking w karierze: 118

[Lucas]

22.04.2019 - najwyższy ranking w karierze: 114

[Barty]

29.04.2019

Najwyższy ranking w karierze: 113

[Damian]

06.05.2019

Najwyższy ranking w karierze: 111

[Barty]

13.05.2019

Najwyższy ranking w karierze: 109

[Damian]

Ruud, Popyrin Lead #NextGenATP Charge Sunday At Roland Garros

Spoiler:

Ruud into the second round for the second straight year
A pair of #NextGenATP stars made a good start to the year’s second Grand Slam on Sunday, as Norwegian Casper Ruud and Aussie Alexei Popyrin advanced to the second round at Roland Garros.

Ruud dismissed former World No. 10 and 2014 semi-finalist Ernests Gulbis 6-2, 7-6(2), 6-0 in two hours and 13 minutes.

“It was a good match, especially a good start. It was crucial to win the second set, I think. It was tough, that tie-break. I think that broke him a little bit and I gained a lot of confidence and energy after winning the second set and it showed in the third set,” Ruud said. “I didn’t play unreal, but I just made a lot of balls and he was missing more and more. It was a very good start, and a tough second set, but overall I’m very happy with the match.”

Watch Casper Ruud Uncovered:


The 20-year-old is into the second round on the Parisian terre battue for the second straight year, having won a five-setter in 2018 against Aussie Jordan Thompson after coming through qualifying. Last year at Roland Garros, Ruud was No. 157 in the ATP Rankings. Now, he’s at a career-high No. 63, having reached his first ATP Tour final on Houston’s red clay earlier this year.

“It’s a very big deal for all the players to play Slams. Last year I played three qualies matches as well, so you also get a bit tired from that,” Ruud said. “It’s much more comfortable to be straight in the main draw and you can focus on your body and be prepared well. Last year I won four matches here, including qualies, so if I would be able to win four matches this year as well I would be very happy.”

Read Ruud Feature

Infosys powers real-time insights for every point

Ruud will next play 29th seed Matteo Berrettini, who beat Spaniard Pablo Andujar 6-7(3), 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 in three hours and 28 minutes. The Italian fittingly beat Gulbis last year en route to the third round, his deepest run yet at a Grand Slam.

<a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/alex ... ew'>Alexei Popyrin</a> hits a serve at <a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/tournaments/ ... ew'>Roland Garros</a>

Popyrin battled past fellow #NextGenATP player Ugo Humbert 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(10), 6-3 in two hours and 52 minutes. It was a strong Roland Garros debut for the 19-year-old Aussie, who reached the third round at the Australian Open in January. He will next face 31st seed Laslo Djere, who beat Spaniard Albert Ramos-Vinolas 6-3, 6-2, 7-6(2).

"Definitely he was very dominant [early on]. He played unbelievable in the first set. I don't think he had many unforced errors at all. I didn't do much wrong, but he was playing really well, and he was holding his serve very, very comfortably," Popyrin said. "But I definitely just stuck with it, concentrated on my serve, tried to get my serve and figuring out a way how to break him in the second set, and I got to do that."

You May Also Like: Popyrin: From In The Crowd To Under The Spotlight
Popyrin knows what it's like to have the crowd on his side after his impressive run in Melbourne. But he also embraced the French fans supporting Humbert, their own #NextGenATP star.

"I enjoy it. I enjoy playing in front of big crowds no matter if they are for me or against me. Obviously I prefer when they're for me," Popyrin said. "But playing in front of crowds like that, you've just got to keep focused on your game, and that's it."

His next opponent, Djere, has had a breakthrough season, winning his first ATP Tour title in Rio de Janeiro. The 23-year-old Serbian also upset Juan Martin del Potro earlier this month in Madrid.

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/ruud-po ... 019-sunday