AAP Tennis

Aussie Popyrin into US Open second round

By AAP Newswire

Aug 31, 2022

Alexei Popyrin has scored a morale-boosting first-round US Open victory to end a dispiriting run of grand slam defeats for the former French Open junior champion.

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Popyrin held his nerve in the clutch moments to down Taiwan's Tseng Chun-hsin 6-3 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (7-3) to continue Australia's promising start to the New York major.

Popyrin is the sixth Aussie through to round two, joining Nick Kyrgios, Alex de Minaur, Jordan Thompson, James Duckworth and Ajla Tomljanovic.

Having lost his openers at the Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon, Popyrin was less than upbeat upon his arrival.

But Flushing Meadows has been a happy hunting ground for the 22-year-old and Popyrin drew on the memories of forays to the last 32 in 2019 and 2021 to advance once again.

The Sydneysider had been facing a rankings freefall but dug deep to save set points in the second set, then seal victory in a second tiebreaker after two hours 42 minutes on Tuesday night.

Popyrin's reward is a clash with American Jack Sock or 14th-seeded Argentine Diego Schwartzman for another place in the last 32.