There was a moment at the Australian Open two years ago where Alexei Popyrin took a small but significant step towards becoming the player capable of beating Novak Djokovic on the world’s biggest stadium court.
Just two months after despairing when beaten in a Challenger tournament in France as his ranking dipped into the 130s, the angular Australian was able to outlast the top American Taylor Fritz in five sets.
The emotion in the Australian’s celebration and post-match interview was palpable as he told former doubles star Casey Dellacqua that he never wanted to be in a position where he felt as lowly as he did in 2022.
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“I don’t want that feeling that I had last year ever again,” he said.
“I wrote that down to myself in my head and I am going to keep working and I am going to keep pushing and I am going to try to keep going all the way. I love this feeling and I want more of this feeling.”
A former Roland Garros boys champion with significant talent, Popyrin has been a work in progress, but the depths he fell to in 2022 proved the turning point of his career.
Prior to the US Open, the 25-year-old spoke of the hours he had spent in the gym after new coaches Xavier Malisse and Neville Godwin advised him he needed to get stronger to be tougher to beat on the court.
But just as critical has been his ability to stay emotionally stable this year instead of dovetailing into despair after a testing loss, which in the past led to a downward spiral he found hard to stop.
“I think a lot of it has to do with the experiences that I have had in my career, just mentally going through these experiences,” Popyrin said in a corridor chat with a couple of Australian reporters on site in New York.
“I have had experiences where I would go on that slump and continue on that slump and let it affect me but this year I managed to have these one-off losses, or maybe two losses, and bounce back really good. That is the biggest part mentally.
“After Wimbledon – I lost to Novak there – and then lost again in the first round at Hamburg and the first round at Umag and I was quite low there. In (Hamburg) I was up a set and a break and I was quite low, but I took it on the chin.”
It was a change Davis Cup captain Lleyton Hewitt, who sat courtside as Popyrin joined him on Friday night as the only Australians to defeat Djokovic in a major, noted at the Paris Olympics.
The former world No.1 urged Popyrin not to be too downcast after a tight loss to 2021 gold medallist Alexander Zverev in the Rd of 16 and the Australian reset his focus immediately.
The magnificent run in the Montreal Masters, which saw him join Hewitt, Pat Rafter and Mark Philippoussis as winners at that level, followed and now he is in the last 16 of a major for the first time.
“Now (when) I am on the court, I am obviously high on confidence after Montreal, so it is a good feeling to have and long may it continue,” he said.
“But after Montreal, I am quite stable right now. I know what I am doing. I know how to react to certain situations and that is a big plus.”
Popyrin, who spent the hours before his upset of Djokovic trying to relax by watching golf highlights on YouTube, is a low key person away from the court.
He could be spotted at the Little Collins cafe in Manhattan’s mid-town district along with just about every other Australian playing the tournament on off-days during the first week and has enjoyed strolling around the Big Apple with his partner Amy Pederick.
That was the plan ahead of his Rd of 16 clash against 2022 US Open semifinalist Frances Tiafoe, which will be played in prime time on Sunday night in Arthur Ashe Stadium.
“For me, that is the biggest thing, not getting ahead of myself,” he said.
“I used to get ahead of myself quite a bit and focus on what (would happen) if I were to win this match, or the opportunity I would have if I did this and that, so for me, those thoughts do pop in naturally, but I am doing a good job on keeping a lid on it.
“The biggest part is focusing on the next match (and) kind of focusing on what we have to do tomorrow with the fitness and on-court stuff, the recovery.
“Off the court, at breakfast, dinner or lunch with my team, my girlfriend and my family, it is about enjoying those moments and not thinking about what is going to happen.”
The Australian, who would break into the top 20 for the first time should he defeat Tiafoe, is yet to play the American but is mindful he faces a significant challenge.
“He’s actually a really good friend of mine. We get along really well off the court. It will be interesting to play against him. We have practised a bunch of times,” he said.
“He’s a very tricky player. (He) probably has some of the best hands on tour, comes into the net a lot (and) likes to mix it up. That’s going to be the tough part. I’m just going to have to play my game (and) serve well.”
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