Australia's sole hope in the singles is through to the round of 16 in Paris, as Alexei Popyrin defeated 2008 doubles gold medalist Stan Wawrinka 6-4, 7-5.
After pulling up unscathed in an impressive straight sets victory on Monday against world No.24 Nicolás Jarry, this posed a different test with an experienced and accomplished veteran at the opposite side of the net.
Wawrinka, a three-time singles Grand Slam champion including the 2015 French Open on clay, struggled for answers when faced with the daunting task of returning Popyrin's serve - unable to break the Sydneysider in one hour and 29 minutes of action.
Helped by winning 100 per cent (21/21) of second serve points won throughout the match, the 24-year-old is growing in confidence on the biggest of stages right throughout 2024.
Popyrin is the first Australian man since Lleyton Hewitt at the 2012 London Games to reach the third round of an Olympic tournament in singles.
“I’m happy I got through in two sets, I think that was really important to conserve some energy if I play tomorrow,” Popyrin said after the match.
“I think in some way it [the heat] was beneficial for me, because the ball was more lively, so that kind of helped me on my serve. Not facing a breakpoint, that just proves the fact that if I served well then it would be in my favour, and it was. I just had to wait for my chances on return, try and stay calm under the pressure.
“I think the heat can get to you mentally sometimes and I just didn’t let it affect me. I’m used to this heat coming from Australia and living in Dubai. I’ve trained and played in the heat a lot, I kinda like it.”
Third seed and 2021 Tokyo gold medalist Alexander Zverev awaits at midnight AEST for a place in the quarter-finals up for grabs. Popyrin spoke about the upcoming matchup.
“He is one of the more in-form players in the world right now, especially on clay... It’s not going to be easy, but if I focus on myself and focus on the game that I can play then I can cause damage to these players. I truly believe I can, if I can bring my A game, I can cause some damage.”
Further delight for the green and gold was witnessed in the men's doubles with Matt Ebden and John Peers edging Spanish duo Pablo Carreño Busta and Marcel Granollers 6-2, 7-5.
“It was a super tough match. The Spanish boys, they had a big win first round [defeated No.1 seeds Andrea Vavassori and Simone Bolelli], they’re also one of the better pairs going around, especially on a clay court,” said Ebden.
“We had to play really, really good, close to perfect and we did. We played close to a perfect match. Only one or two balls in the whole match we missed. That’s what it took and I’m glad we produced it at the right time.”
It means the Aussie pair will face Germany's Jan-Lennard Struff and Dominik Koepfer in the last eight.
Ebden will also feature in the mixed doubles quarter-finals alongside Ellen Perez tonight at 9 p.m. AEST against China's Xinyu Wang and Zhizhen Zhang.
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