Alexei Popyrin: Novak Djokovic upset ‘something I thought I could do’ | ATP Tour

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Djokovic didn’t upset Popyrin: ‘It’s something I thought I could do’

The Australian defeated the four-time champion in four sets on Friday night

August 31, 2024

Alexei Popyrin’s victory over Novak Djokovic at the US Open may have shocked many, but it didn’t surprise the man himself.

Popyrin believes that his striking game has always had the ability to trouble the players of the game. Instead, stringing together top-level matches has been a challenge for the 25-year-old, whose straight-sets victory over Djokovic inside Arthur Ashe Stadium came 18 days after securing a stunning ATP Masters 1000 title in Montreal.

“For me, winning Montreal was much bigger than today, because it’s a title, and it’s a Masters 1000 title,” Popyrin said after his 6-4, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 win against Djokovic on Friday. at night. “That felt unbelievable. Today was something I thought I could do, you know? Winning the Masters 1000 was a no-brainer in my head.

“My two experiences that I am facing [Djokovic] earlier this year at the Australian Open and Wimbledon kind of gave me the confidence to go out there tonight and believe I could win, and I actually did it and believed. So when I did it, it was as if that proved me right, it proved that what I thought was right. It wasn’t unbelievable.”

After pushing Djokovic to four sets earlier in the year at the Australian Open and Wimbledon, Popyrin was pleased with the way he mentally improved to get over the line this time.

“It was a tough game from my side,” said the Australian. “To be honest, I said before the game that I didn’t use the last two games, and today I was able to use the opportunities.

“I would say that in terms of quality maybe it was not a high quality. I think because I’ve had games where I’ve played and I felt a lot better than I did today. I think the way I prepared and the way I played the game, there was also the best game I played.”

As fans who followed his actions in Montreal earlier this month will know, Popyrin is a charismatic person on the court who seems to thrive in big spaces. That was certainly the case on Friday, when it might not have been obvious to onlookers that the Australian was playing for the first time on the world’s biggest tennis court.

“I came out of Arthur Ashe about 20 minutes before the actual match and it was my first time in Arthur Ashe, just to get a gauge of what the field looks like and how big it is,” Popyrin said. “The crowd was amazing. They stood up slowly. When I hit those passing shots, it was so amazing to feel the crowd around me. I was able to beat them late in the game, which is amazing.”

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Number 28 in the PIF ATP Rankings Popyrin can expect an equally tense situation in her next match, where she will face home favorite and 2022 semi-finalist Frances Tiafoe in the fourth round. Although these players know each other well. it will be their first Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting.

“He’s actually my best friend,” said Popyrin of Tiafoe. “We really get along outside the court. It will be fun to play against him. We have done it many times. He is a very strategic player. He probably has one of the best hands on Tour, he goes into the net a lot, he likes to put it together. That will be the hard part.

“Actually, playing Frances is going to be a lot of fun because there have been a few times where I’ve lost a round before playing Frances, and she’s always telling me, ‘Man, why do you keep losing before we play each other.’ ?’ Luckily this time I was able to do it and hopefully it will be a good game.”