'FEELING REALLY GOOD': POPYRIN ADVANCES TO ROUND THREE IN ROME

Following a chaotic Thursday in Rome, where a new pope was elected just up the road from the tennis, normality resumed with three Aussies on the Friday order of play.

Scheduled first up from 11am, Jordan Thompson made a late decision to withdraw from his match with Brandon Nakashima, citing a back injury.

The withdrawal came as no surprise, with the 31-year-old having told The First Serve of his physical struggles after his round one victory over Giovanni Mpetschi Perricard.

“(The body) is not in great condition, honestly,” Thompson said.

“It started with a rupture of the Plantar Fasciitis, then a couple of little tears, and then an oblique tear.”

Thompson is still scheduled to play doubles this week with compatriot John-Patrick Smith, but will need another day to determine if he is fit to take the court.

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Second up from an Aussie perspective was Alexei Popyrin, seeking to end a fortnight-long losing streak.

From the outset, Popyrin had the upper hand over Spanish qualifier Carlos Taberner, taking the first set 6-1 to seize control of the match.

A combination of a lull from the Australian and a rise from his opponent saw Popyrin down a break to start the second, before clawing his way back to take it in a tiebreak.

It’s another meaningful victory for Popyrin, whose 2025 season has been a struggle for his standards, but is trending up on the clay.

"It was a good match, really solid from my end, implemented everything that (he and new coach Wayne Ferreira) we've been working on the last couple of months,” Popyrin told The First Serve post-match.

“The first set went great and second set, there was always going to be a bounce back from the opponent, but I did a good job of sticking in there even after I got broken early, broke back straight away and just held in and tried to find ways to kind of get on him."

Following a first match defeat to Alexander Bublik in Madrid and a surprising loss to Stan Wawrinka at ATP Challenger level last week, Popyrin remained confident in his level.

“I’ve been practising well and it was just [a matter of] not letting the last two weeks affect me and trying to come in here with a positive mindset,” he said.

“And so far it's been working and I'm feeling really good on the court.”

The 25-year-old will now face Daniil Medvedev in the third round; a head-to-head which the Russian leads 3-1, but Popyrin won their only encounter in the past four years (2024 Paris Masters).

Last up in Friday action, Daria Kasatkina began her campaign in Rome but suffered a 6-4, 6-2 defeat to Marta Kostyuk.

23-year-old Kostyuk overcame 'Dasha' with power from the baseline, and shook the Aussie’s hand at the end, unlike in their past three encounters when Kasatkina represented Russia.

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