Alexei Popyrin’s redemption week at the Adelaide International ended in the quarter-finals, but he departs with renewed optimism that he belongs at the top level.
The 23-year-old Australian qualifier lost a see-sawing contest with Yoshihito Nishioka on Friday that both players could have won in straight sets, only for the Japanese grinder to finally prevail 7-6 (7-4), 6-7 (8-10), 6-2 in almost three hours.
Alexei Popyrin fought hard but was edged out by Yoshihito Nishioka of Japan.Credit:Getty Images
Popyrin clubbed 27 aces – 15 in a captivating second set – and will rue wasting a 4-2 first-set lead, but he showed tremendous fight to save two match points and extend the clash into a deciding set.
That second set lasted more than an hour, and he rallied from 1-4 and 3-5 tie-breaker deficits to clinch it on his fourth set point.
But 36th-ranked Nishioka resumed the better of the pair in the final set, and the end was nigh when he broke Popyrin for a second time to lead 5-2, after which the Australian called for a medical time-out and complained of “shortness of breath”.
Popyrin arrived in South Australia after a season in which he won a modest five of 22 matches at ATP Tour level and his ranking plummeted from a career-high No.59 to No.120.
Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka celebrates after clinching a point.Credit:AP
After qualifying, Popyrin’s first-round victory over in-form Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime, the world’s sixth-ranked player, ignited his week, before he registered a hard-fought win over American Marcos Giron.
The Australian Open wildcard, who twice made the round of 32 at Melbourne Park, told The Age after the Giron match that “cockiness” played a role in his downfall last year.
Popyrin retains plenty of confidence and wants wins like the Auger-Aliassime victory to become the norm, but believes he has matured and learnt plenty from past mistakes.
Elsewhere, second-seeded Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka ousted Czech Marketa Vondrousova 6-3, 7-5 to reach the semi-finals, where she will face Irina-Camelia Begu or Veronika Kudermetova.
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