Alexei Popyrin

[Damian]

The other #NextGenATP to kick off Tuesday play was Alexei Popyrin. The Aussie made quick work of Federico Delbonis, prevailing 6-1, 7-5, 7-6(5) to earn his first US Open match victory.

Popyrin

Popyrin has won matches at all four Grand Slams this year, moving him to 11th in the ATP Race To Milan. He will hope to build on that standing when he next faces Mikhail Kukushkin on Thursday.

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/us-open ... ev-popyrin

[COA]

USO19: pierwszy wygrany mecz w Nowym Jorku.

Alexei Popyrin d. Federico Delbonis 6-1 7-5 7-6(5)

[Damian]

Cash On Popyrin: 'He's Got A Chance To Make It A Long Way'

Spoiler:

#NextGenATP Aussie next faces Kukushkin
Entering the season, #NextGenATP Aussie Alexei Popyrin had played in just one Grand Slam main draw match, losing in the first round of last year’s Australian Open. But it’s been a breakthrough year for the 20-year-old at the majors, where he has not only competed in every main draw, but after defeating Federico Delbonis 6-1, 7-5, 7-6(5) at the US Open Tuesday, Popyrin has won at least one match at every Slam in 2019.

“It’s obviously a great achievement for me,” Popyrin said. “It’s something that I didn’t expect at the start of the year, but it’s something that’s really a good achievement for me and it’s just proving that the hard work is paying off right now and hopefully it continues that way.”

In the next round, Popyrin will face Mikhail Kukushkin, who upset No. 10 seed Roberto Bautista Agut in the first round. But the Aussie is not getting wrapped up in not having to face the in-form Bautista Agut.

“I’m just going to take it one match at a time, honestly. I don’t know who I have in the third round now. Didn’t know I had [Bautista] Agut or Kukushkin. I just found out before I went to see the physio that [Bautista] Agut lost, but we’re going to prepare the same way,” Popyrin said. “We’re going to scout him. I’m going to do everything I would do if I played against [Bautista] Agut and I’m going to go out there and try my best.”

Regardless of his opponent, the Aussie is not completely worried about who is across the net. Instead, he is focussed on his own game and the challenges he himself poses. That’s what helped him reach the third round of the Australian Open, where he pushed Lucas Pouille to five sets.after falling two sets down.

“I think that going out without confidence that you’ll win the match, there’s no point in going out at all. So each match I’m going to go out there and I’m going to have confidence to win,” Popyrin said. “So I’m going to believe in myself, I’m going to believe that I can win the match and I feel like if I play at the top of my level I can really push any player to the maximum. It’s just trying to keep consistent, having less of those ups and downs during the match. That’s for me to work on and just comes with experience for me.”


Popyrin is currently in 11th place in the ATP Race To Milan as he makes a push to qualify for the Next Gen ATP Finals, which take place from 5-9 November. The Top 7 players earn a berth into the 21-and-under season finale, with an eighth spot going to the winner of an Italian 21-and-under wild card event.

But the World No. 105, who climbed as high as No. 87 in the ATP Rankings in July, does not focus too much on points and daily results. Popyrin works hard to improve his game with the thinking that doing so will lead to even better results.

Aussie legend Pat Cash joined Popyrin’s team for the grass-court season, doing his best to work with the #NextGenATP star on developing aspects of his game that could benefit him, especially on quicker courts.

“He did a great job in quite a lot of areas. He’s an exceptional athlete, there’s no doubt about that. And he’s very good under pressure. Those are two very important things that were highlighted to me,” Cash said. “The rest of the technical stuff you can work on and improve that. When you’re playing under pressure and moving, that’s sort of stuff you’re born with to a certain extent. You can always improve these things. Players get better, players become better athletes. But if you’ve got that naturally, and you like to compete and you can play well under pressure, then that’s a huge bonus… so that for me gave me the indication that he’s got a chance to make it a long way in the game.”


Before this season, Popyrin owned just one tour-level victory. But he is already proving to show no fear in tight situations, winning more than half (9-8) of his tour-level tie-breaks this year. Younger players sometimes need time to adjust to the pressures of those tight moments on the ATP Tour, but Popyrin has quickly fine-tuned his game under those circumstances.

“It’s pretty rare to get somebody who likes to compete that well and is pretty cool under pressure. Having said that, at a young age, you’re fearless and you’ve got nothing to lose. Things will change as his reputation gets bigger and the pressure gets to him, but on the flip side, players will get nervous against him, so it can work both ways,” Cash said. “But he does have the ability to perform well under pressure in tie-breaks. He’s got a great tie-break record and that’s a good indication as well.”

Cash didn’t want to get into the details so as to avoid giving Popyrin’s opponents too much insight, but the Aussie said that bearing in mind Popyrin has a 'very good gift' at the net, they wanted to refine some things.

“That’s given him another element to his game, where he obviously’s got a big serve, a big forehand, everybody knows that. But there are lots of players who have got big serves and big forehands,” Cash said. “You’ve got to have more than that, so we were developing those other areas, and the grass-court surface was a great place to try them out without expectations and he did that really well. It’s developing an all-around game, not just a serve and a forehand, and I think he’s doing that nicely.”

Popyrin already has the ability at only 20 to play aggressively and dictate points. But Cash wanted to help develop other options for the Aussie.

“I wouldn’t say apprehensive [coming to net], it was moreso that I was comfortable on the baseline and wasn’t really comfortable moving into the court whenever I had the chance,” Popyrin said. “The addition of Pat during the Wimbledon season was a great addition that really opened my eyes a little bit more. It’s just another dimension that I added to my game, which is great.”

You May Also Like: Popyrin: From In The Crowd To Under The Spotlight
As Cash noted, it’s important for Popyrin to keep things in perspective. If he loses a match one week because a certain aspect of his game is off, and then drops another match the following week because of something else, it’d be ill-advised to keep switching focuses for the short term. But the 1987 Wimbledon champion is confident that Popyrin will not let his early success get to his mind.

“The tennis circuit has a great way of bringing you down to earth pretty quickly if you think you’re a bit good, particularly the men’s circuit, which is so competitive. So if you’re not right on your edge, if you’re not fired up all the time, it’s quite simple: you’ll lose. You’ll go through a bad run,” Cash said. “He’s under no illusions that it’s easy. He works hard, he knows every match is tricky. But there’s lots of things he has to navigate through the circuit and you’ve got to plan your way through the circuit. You can’t just play every tournament; you’ve got to put in breaks. You’ve got to understand that some things take longer then other things.

“He’ll make mistakes and he’ll lose matches that he thought he can win, but it’ll go the other way around as well. I think he’s understanding one of the things that I thought was important for him to understand, which was you’ve got to start doing stuff now for the future. It’s very tough for young players and parents that you’ve got to think long-term… So he’s got good people behind him and I think he understands that it may not be a quick rise to the top. Sometimes it is, but he’s not expecting it.”

Nevertheless, Popyrin will show no fear when he walks onto Court 12 Thursday against Kukushkin at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. After all, he has thrived at the Slams this year.

“I think it’s just the vibe of Grand Slams. I really enjoy playing Grand Slams, the big crowds, the big stadiums even though I didn’t play on one today,” Popyrin said. “But I had a good crowd out there. Some of the Aussie support, I still heard it even if it was on a small court. Just all that. I like the Grand Slam vibe. It’s very busy, but at the same time it just gives you a sense that you’ve made it to the top of the sport.”

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/alexei- ... 19-feature

[arti]

[Damian]

Popyrin defeated Mikhail Kukushkin 2-6, 7-5, 6-3, 6-2, rallying from a set down to triumph on Court 12. The Sydney native launched 44 winners, including 15 aces, during the two-hour and 35-minute affair. He converted seven of 10 break chances.

Popyrin, who is sitting in 11th position in the ATP Race To Milan, is hoping a strong week in New York will propel him to a first Next Gen ATP Finals appearance. Making his US Open debut, he has claimed match wins at all four Grand Slams this year.

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/us-open ... os-popyrin

[Kamileki]

[arti]

USO19: 3. runda w debiucie na Flushing Meadows!

Alexei Popyrin d. Michaił Kukuszkin 2-6 7-5 6-3 6-2

[Kamileki]

[Damian]

Alexei Popyrin

Given he arrived at the Australian Open as a world No.147-ranked wildcard and left with a win over No.7 seed Dominic Thiem before stretching eventual semifinalist Lucas Pouille to five sets, it’s encouraging to hear Popyrin left Melbourne Park with a bee in his bonnet, keen to make sure such chances don’t slip away again rather than resting on his laurels.

The 19-year-old, who broke the world’s top 125 after the tournament, proved he has the game and the maturity to mix it with the big guns, and a first Davis Cup call-up followed by a solid start to the season should mean more Tour-level opportunities in 2019. Build on this, and Popyrin should find himself with a direct entry into next year’s AO.

https://ausopen.com/articles/features/f ... out-ao2020

[Kamileki]

ATP Sztokholm R2:

85 Dominik Köpfer 634
86 Alexei Popyrin 630
87 Soonwoo Kwon 627

[arti]

2019 w liczbach:

Ranking: 97
Bilans meczów: 12-15
Tytuły: 0
Finały: 0
Zarobki: $676,289

[Lucas]

Alexei Popyrin, No. 97

The big-hitting Aussie will look for more consistency in 2020 after showing flashes of excellence in 2019. Popyrin, who was one spot away from competing at the 2019 Next Gen ATP Finals, also reached the third round at his home Grand Slam, the Australian Open, and made the quarter-finals in Atlanta. He'll look for more deep runs in 2020.

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/preview ... watch-2020

[arti]

[arti]

[Kamileki]

[DUN I LOVE]

No i ma to Alexei. Obronił punkty sprzed roku, więc na owy rekordowy ranking trzeba będzie jeszcze poczekać.

[Damian]

Before Medvedev Showdown, Popyrin Says 'I'm Not Starstruck Anymore'

Spoiler:

#NextGenATP Aussie into Melbourne third round for second straight year
Australian #NextGenATP star Alexei Popyrin is into the third round of the Australian Open for the second year in a row. But for the 20-year-old, his second run at Melbourne Park has been different.

“I think I've gotten a lot of experience [from] last year. I'm not kind of starstruck by being in the third round anymore,” Popyrin said. “I wouldn't say got used to it, but I'm more self-centered and more focussed on the third round.”

Popyrin has a tough task ahead of him when he faces No. 4 seed Daniil Medvedev, last year’s US Open finalist. But the World No. 96 is not shying away from the challenge.

“ nothing to lose at all,” Popyrin said. “He's one of the best players in the world. It's going to be a great challenge for me. I'm really looking forward to it.”

Popyrin’s relationship with the Australian Open started long before he was on these courts swatting balls himself. 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.

Watch Live

In the crowd that early morning inside Rod Laver Arena was an eight-year-old Popyrin. The youngster couldn’t make it to the fifth set, nearly falling asleep before getting taken home by his parents. In 2019, Popyrin was the one on a big stage at the year’s first major. Last season, he entered the Australian Open 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. Then 19, he 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 last year. “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.”

Watch Live

Since that event, Popyrin showed he can compete week-in and week-out on the ATP Tour, advancing through qualifying at 10 tour-level events in 2019. The Aussie first broke into the Top 100 of the FedEx ATP Rankings on 24 June of last year. And now, Popyrin will try to reach the fourth round of a major for the first time against Medvedev, who beat him in the second round of Wimbledon last year.

“He's probably the hottest opponent you could get right now. Yeah, I played him in Wimbledon last year. I had opportunities,” Popyrin said. “I took him to four, won the first set, was a break up in the third. I think I'm a better player right now than I was in Wimbledon. I did a lot of work in the pre-season. Hopefully I can get the chances that I had in Wimbledon on Saturday and convert them.”

Twelve years ago, when Hewitt was battling Baghdatis deep into the Melbourne morning, Popyrin was just another kid in the crowd. Now, kids are in the seats watching him.

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/alexei- ... 20-feature

[Barty]

[Kamileki]

[Kamileki]

2020 w liczbach:

Ranking: 113
Bilans meczów: 2-5
Tytuły: 0
Finały: 0
Zarobki: $257,905