Australian youngster Alexei Popyrin has secured one of the biggest wins of his career, beating world No.6 Felix Auger-Aliassime in the opening round of the Adelaide International.
The 23-year-old, who has fallen to No.120 in the world following an injury-hit 2022 season, kicked off his first campaign of the year in the best possible fashion in the 6-4, 7-6 (7-5) win over the Canadian.
Popyrin was overjoyed with the result and will now face America’s Marcos Giron in the next round.
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”It’s obviously an unbelievable feeling,” he said of the win.
“I had a really, really tough season last year. It’s the first main draw match of the year for me, and to beat a player of his quality it just shows that the work I did in the off-season is paying off already at the start of the year.
“I just told myself to stay positive. I’ve obviously been in the top 100 before, I’ve won a title already and I’m only 23 so I’ve got plenty of time.
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“I was just trying to keep my head down and do the work that I had to do and eventually the time will come where the hard work will pay off and obviously today a part of the hard work is paying off.”
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Popyrin has made a change to his camp, working with former Belgian pro Xavier Malisse, and revealed the tweaks the pair have been working on.
“He’s been a great addition to my team,” he said.
“He’s just trying to bring a little bit of consistency to my game. I’ve got the big serve and the big forehand, but we just want to try and be a little bit more consistent.
“I’m not going to give away all my secrets, so hopefully I can surprise a few people in the coming summer.”
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