'I'm slowly starting to build something': Tall poppy won't be cut down

Alexei Popyrin celebrates his win over Holger Rune. (Getty/Matthew Stockman)

One year is a long time in tennis.

Since his awe-inspiring title run at the Canadian Masters last year, Alexei Popyrin has struggled to recapture the form that saw him topple Novak Djokovic at the 2024 US Open.

Making the round of 16 at the 2024 Paris Masters, including a first career win over mercurial Russian Daniil Medvedev along the way, the big-serving Aussie finished the year full of promise.

Looking to springboard off his title success in Canada, Popyrin instead had an underwhelming start to 2025. 

Losing in the opening round of his first four tournaments of the year, including a head-scratching effort against Frenchman Corentin Moutet at the Australian Open, the 26-year-old just couldn't string together a consistent performance. 

Admittedly, most of Popyrin's early losses were at the hands of players who are also in career-best form, including Moutet, Jack Draper, Jiří Lehečka and Alejandro Davidovich Fokina. 

But losing to British wildcard and world No.461, Arthur Fery, in his 2025 Wimbledon first round match was certainly not on the cards for the Aussie No.2. 

Now, 12 months on from his maiden Masters 1000 title in Canada, Popyrin finds himself at a bit of a crossroads.

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With a game that is built around a huge serve, powerful groundstrokes and a crafty net presence, the three-time ATP tour champion has all the ingredients of a complete player. 

Possessing so many weapons is one thing; putting them all together is another thing entirely.

Popyrin's lack of consistency from one match to the next, tournament to tournament, has plagued the Sydneysider, not just this year, but throughout his career.

First cracking into the top 100 as a 19-year-old in 2019, the young Popyrin struggled to maintain his position over the next four years.

That is, until mid-2023, when he has since stayed inside the top 50.

This is because Popyrin is a confidence player, particularly when the conditions suit his game, meaning he only needs one or two positive tournaments a year to maintain his ranking. 

After another solid performance at the Canadian Open, the big Aussie realises this, but is using it to his advantage.

"I just feel comfortable on these courts," Popyrin admitted, following his gutsy win over world No.9 Holger Rune in Toronto this week.

"I think the surface is a little bit quicker, which, I don't know if it makes sense, but it makes me have a little bit more time on the court because I hit my first aggressive shot and then I can kind of dictate from there."

While he won nine of his 10 matches in Canada from 2024-25, he has registered a win-loss record of 10-15 in all other tour-level events on hard courts. 

Recognising that he needed to adjust something after his poor start to the season, Popyrin made a drastic coaching decision.

Replacing Xavier Malisse with former world No.6 Wayne Ferreira before the Monte Carlo Masters in April, Popyrin believes Frances Tiafoe's former coach has had a positive impact, despite an inconsistent season.

"Since Wayne came in, I feel like my year has been trending upwards," he said. 

"He's been a great addition. The start of the year was really difficult for me. But we were able to get over that hurdle."

Assuming a dual-coaching role with Neville Godwin, Ferreira has helped Popyrin make a notable change to his backhand grip, which is slowly coming together.

"I think it's the most consistent it's been in a while. On the clay, I kind of got away with looping the backhand and getting it high over the net and kind of baiting the players to kind of be aggressive," he said.

"But here on the hard courts, I feel like it's just become more consistent. I feel like I'm getting a good strike on it more often than not. Then to mix that in with my slice, which I feel like I've got a pretty decent slice, it just gives variety off the backhand win, which is really nice to have."

It's not all changes, though. Godwin and Ferreira have also reiterated to Popyrin a hidden weapon he possesses: his court movement. 

"People see me as tall and lanky, very uncoordinated, and think I might be a slow mover," he shared. "But I feel movement comes naturally to me, that I'm quite quick for a big guy, and I can get out of corners quite easily. I definitely see it as a weapon of mine."

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Despite his 195-centimetre frame, Popyrin has the legs to dig in for the long rallies and work his way back into a neutral position, proving he doesn't need to force his way out of defence with one shot.

His run in Canada proved this.

Despite his tight three-set quarter-final loss to world No.3 Alexander Zverev in Toronto, Popyrin played a consistent brand of controlled aggression throughout the tournament.

"Overall, my level is there. I haven't felt like this all year, which is nice. I feel like I'm slowly starting to build something," he stated with quiet confidence. 

Heading into the American hard court swing, Popyrin will need a good Cincinnati Masters run to obtain a crucial top 32 seed at the US Open, which will be determined on August 18.

If Popyrin can continue building on his Canadian Open form, while incorporating the changes Ferreira and Godwin have instigated, the big man might just have the game to go deep at a Grand Slam.

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