Alexei Popyrin headlined the Australian action on day three at Indian Wells, advancing to the third round for the first time in his career.
Having endured a difficult start to the year, losing six of his past seven matches before arriving in the desert, Popyrin revealed that there have been many problems behind closed doors.
"The start of the year hasn't been great. Obviously, no one knows what's been going on behind the scenes, but it hasn't been an easy two months for me. A lot of illnesses, one injury, and just all in all, the body not feeling too good," Popyrin told the Australian press.
Facing the challenging Zizou Bergs of Belgium, the 25-year-old Aussie knew he needed a positive start.
"The first set was very important for me. He called out the doctor at 6-5, and it was just important for me to stay kind of focused and in the moment."
Having played Bergs through juniors and at the lower level of the tours, Popyrin was aware of his 'antics' and remained unfazed to earn a 7-6(4) 7-5 victory.
"He was walking around like he was about to retire, then grunting, then running as fast as he could and playing points to the full every single time. So that was mentally tough to stay in it, but I'm glad I did," Popyrin said.
The Aussie No.2, who defends 1000 of his 1750 points in Canada this August (after winning the ATP Masters 1000 in 2024), is not being pressured by the pending points drop, instead focussing on the 2025 ATP race tally.
"I'm not thinking about the points from Canada. Ideally, you want to defend the 1000 points before you before you get there. And that's that's obviously the goal," Popyrin stated.
"But we're going to look at the ATP race ranking...that's the amount of points you accumulate in the year, and that's the most important ranking to look at."
He will face Marcos Giron in the last 32, after the American upset fourth seed Casper Ruud.
Later on Friday at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, Chris O'Connell was unable to overcome big-serving Italian Matteo Berrettini.
Despite giving himself opportunities to break and take the second set, O'Connell ultimately went down 6-2 7-6(2).
DAY FOUR PREVIEW
Four Aussies will contest their second-round singles matches on Saturday, with Alex de Minaur commencing his campaign, whilst Kimberly Birrell, Adam Walton, and Rinky Hijikata look to continue their momentum.
De Minaur faces the experienced David Goffin; a matchup which the Aussie has enjoyed as much as any, holding a 6-0 head-to-head record and dropping just one set back in 2021.
Birrell - the only Aussie left in the women's draw - will face Elise Mertens, seeking to build on her first career win at WTA 1000 level.
The 26-year-old won the pair's only meeting in October last year, leading 4-1 in the deciding set before Mertens retired.
Coming off his first ATP Masters 1000 win, Adam Walton faces the in-form Denis Shapovalov; a significant opportunity in just his second career match against a top-30 player.
The Canadian has won eight of his nine matches since leaving Australia, including three top-10 wins, but there's no doubt Walton will make it difficult for him to continue that run.
Rinky Hijikata also holds a major opportunity to reach the third round of a 1000 event for the first time, as he takes on American Brandon Nakashima.
It will be the pair's fourth meeting in twelve months, with Hijikata claiming their most recent battle in Adelaide earlier this year.
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