Alexei Popyrin has set up a third round blockbuster against Novak Djokovic at the US Open after an impressive straight-sets win over Spain’s Pedro Martinez in the second round. Popyrin kept his superb run of form going by dominating Martinez in a 6-2 6-4 6-0 victory, in what proved to a brutal day of drama for fellow Aussie tennis stars Rinky Hijikata, Ajla Tomljanovic and 18-year-old qualifier Maya Joint – who were all eliminated.
Popyrin came into the year’s final grand slam seeded for the first time at a major and the World No.28 made it nine wins from his past 10 matches on North American hard courts after dispatching Martinez in one hour and 48 minutes. The reward for the Aussie – who recently won his first ATP Masters 1000 title in Montreal – is a mouthwatering third round clash against defending champion and 24-time major winner Djokovic, who benefited from the third set retirement of fellow Serb, Laslo Djere later on Thursday (AEST).
Popyrin overcame sweltering conditions in New York and was twice forced to fight back from break points down in the second set, after taking the opener. Martinez proved no match for Popyrin in the third set as the Aussie star dished up a ‘bagel’ for the hapless Spaniard to maintain his record of not dropping a set so far at Flushing Meadows.
“It was hot. I’m just glad I got it done in straight sets – I don’t know if I would have made five sets in this heat. But who knows? I’m glad I didn’t have to find out,” a relieved Popyrin said during an on-court interview with Stan Sport. The Aussie now faces the daunting prospect of coming up against Djokovic in the third round, having already faced the Serb twice in grand slams already this year.
The 25-year-old Sydneysider pushed the 24-time major winner to four sets in the second round of the Australian Open, and again in the third round at Wimbledon. And with Popyrin in the form of his life and Djokovic beginning to show signs that his stranglehold on the men’s game is is slipping, the Aussie should head into the third round in a confident mindset – even if hoped Djokovic’s second round match became a five-set marathon.
Alexei Popyrin makes Novak Djokovic joke before clash
“Honestly, (what I learned from those matches against Djokovic was) just that I’m able to compete with him,” Popyrin said. “He’s the greatest of all time and one of the best players in the world right now. But I’m able to go toe-to-toe with him, and just in the important points he steps up a little bit, and I just have to expect that, if I play him on Friday. Hopefully Djere can take him to five,” he joked.
Unfortunately for the Aussie, Djere was unable to put up much of a fight against Djokovic, despite taking an early break in the second set. Djokovic fought back to claim the second set 6-4 and was up 2-0 in the third when Djere retired injured, gifting the reigning champion an easy passage into the third round.
Popyrin’s triumph came on a bad day for a host of his fellow Aussies, with Hijikata dealt a grand slam reality check against ninth seed, Grigor Dimitrov. The Bulgarian issued a statement to his rivals after dropping just two games across the opening two sets, before sending Hijikata packing in a 6-1 6-1 7-6 (7-4) thrashing.
Hijikata stormed to the fourth round of the US Open last year as a wildcard but came up against an imperious Dimitrov, who is playing his best tennis at the age of 33. The Aussie could not have imagined winning just two games in the first two sets though, and despite putting up a fight in the third, Dimitrov’s class ultimately prevailed as he won in two hours and 10 minutes.
Former women’s quarter-finalist Tomljanovic and 18-year-old qualifier Joint were also eliminated to complete the heartache for the Aussie contingent, apart from Popyrin. Tomljanovic lost her second-round match 6-3 6-2 to Belgian 33rd seed Elise Mertens, while Joint’s breakout grand slam run came to a halt with a 6-4 6-0 loss to 2017 runner-up Madison Keys.
“It was a competitive first set and I had my chances but she played really well,” Joint said. “She lifted in the second set for sure and, yeah, I don’t think I did anything wrong.” Joint can take solace in the fact that she’ll leave New York with a projected career-high ranking of World No.108 – leaving the 18-year-old on track to break into the top-100 and secure direct entry into the Australian Open in January.
