Australian youngster Alexei Popyrin has caused an Adelaide International boilover, shocking Canadian world No 6 Felix Auger-Aliassime in their first-round battle.
The 23-year-old has two wins against top 10 players to his name but both were mid-match retirements. This time the world No 120, who came through qualifying, proved he was the real deal with a 6-4, 7-6, (7-5) victory to send the second seed packing.
Sydneysider Popyrin trailed in the 0-3 in the second set and was also down a mini-break in the tiebreak but both times clawed his way back. Ultimately, he only needed one match point to wrap up the biggest win of his career.
After a rough 2022, Popyrin said it was good to see his hard work paying off under new coach, former Belgian star Xavier Malisse, who is a former world top-20 player.
“I’m pretty happy, it’s obviously an unbelievable feeling,” Popyrin said on court after the match. “I had a really, really tough season last year and to come out after qualifying and to beat a player of his quality just showed the work I did in the off-season is paying off already.”
Popyrin’s match stats were impressive with 12 aces to his 22-year-old rival’s seven while he also hit 10 more winners. Known for his booming serve, he showed he was adding to his game winning 22 points from the net – double that of Auger-Aliassime.
He said that Malisse was working to improve his consistency.
“We started in October and he’s been a great addition to my team. He’s trying to bring a little bit of consistency to my game. I’ve got the big serve, got the big forehand but I want to be more consistent.”
Popyrin next faces American Marcos Giron, who won his opening match against French veteran Richard Gasquet.
In other results, Christopher O’Connell fell to Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic 6-4, 6-4, while Australian Jordan Thompson also made an early departure from Memorial Drive, going down against Frenchman Quentin Halys 6-3, 6-4. Danish world No 11 Holger Rune was also a surprise first-round casualty, falling to Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka.
Meanwhile, showcourt 1 was overflowing with fans who packed in to see former world No 1 Novak Djokovic play his first match in Australia in two years.
Playing doubles, Djokovic paired with Vasek Pospisil to take on Gonzalo Escobar and Tomislav Brkic in the first round. Djokovic, who was deported last year ahead of the Australian Open, was warmly welcomed on to court with a loud cheer as fans queued to see the Serbian superstar in action.
But he was unable to deliver a win, falling to the doubles specialists 4-6, 6-3 (10-5).
The crowd’s champion was again hometown hero Thanasi Kokkinakis, who put another notch in his Adelaide belt with a first-round win over world No.34 Maxime Cressy at the South Australian ATP tournament.
A winner and semi-finalist in the two back-to-back events here last year, the Adelaide local again relished the opportunity to play in front of an appreciative audience, registering a 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (9-7) victory over the towering American.
Kokkinakis fought back from a break down and a set point in the second set to secure an impressive win which he closed out with an ace.
“I had an incredible summer here last year starting off in Adelaide and with the (Australian Open) doubles (win) as a cherry on top,” he said. “But forever the Adelaide week will be my top moment for sure. I’m hoping to just try my arse off every match.”
After an injury-ravaged six years, Kokkinakis used his hometown run as something of a springboard to rejuvenate his stuttering career. While he didn’t quite hit the dizzy heights of another tournament win in 2022, he did become ensconced in the top 100.
And with some 340 points to defend across the two weeks of competition in Adelaide, he’ll need to be at his best or risk slipping well down the rankings ladder.
But Monday night was as good a start as he could hope for. He overcame a knee problem in the first set, admitting afterward he needed to take some painkillers. Yet he didn’t face a break point in the opener and rode the crowd as well as his monster forehand when needed to bounce back in the second.
Serve-volleyer Cressy had been one of the surprise packets of the 2022 Australian summer, going from outside the top 100 to reach the final of the ATP event in Melbourne as a qualifier before making the last 16 at the Australian Open.
Things get no easier for Kokkinakis in Adelaide however, with a vastly improved field from last year meaning there’s every chance he’ll meet world No 15, Jannik Sinner, in the second round.