Updated
Sydney teenager Alexei Popyrin has announced himself to the tennis world at the Australian Open with an upset win over seventh seed Dominic Thiem, who was forced to retire during their round-two match.
Key points:
- Alexei Popyrin was leading two sets to love when Dominic Thiem retired
- Popyrin served 13 aces on his way to victory
- He joins another Australian 19-year-old, Alex de Minaur in the third round
Thiem indicated to the chair umpire after the second game of the third set that he could not continue because of illness, with 19-year-old Popyrin leading 7-5, 6-4, 2-0 at the time on Melbourne Arena.
In was not the manner in which the 149th-ranked Popyrin had hoped to secure victory but his performance up until Thiem withdrew had been stunning, giving an indication of his prodigious talent.
“I always thought that I was in the match to be honest,” Popyrin said in a courtside interview.
“But when I won the second set [that] is when that thought really kicked in and that I could actually win the match.”
Popyrin’s passage through to the third round sees him join fellow Australian 19-year-old Alex de Minaur, who meets Rafael Nadal in a much-anticipated clash on Friday night.
The rise of Popyrin should be of little surprise as he gave a glimpse of his potential when he won the French Open junior title in 2017.
He spent much of 2018 on the second-tier challenger circuit but was able to qualify for the main draw at several ATP Tour tournaments to finish the season ranked 147 in the world.
Popyrin, who spends part of the year based in Spain, beat the seasoned German Mischa Zverev in straight sets on the outside courts in the opening round but there was little expectation that he could claim the scalp of Thiem.
His booming serve, which produced 13 aces against Thiem, was on song from early in the first set, while he also showed off his impressive mobility to move his 196-centimetre frame around the court with ease.
“I have a big forehand and I move well for a big man,” Popyrin said.
Games were on serve in the first set until Popyrin secured the break in the 12th game, before Thiem called for the doctor early in the second for medical treatment as he was feeling ill.
Thiem, a French Open finalist last year, held serve under duress until Popyrin broke him again to claim the second set much to the delight of a raucous crowd.
The Austrian, who has been ranked as high as four, dropped serve in the second game of the third when he decided to retire.
Popyrin will face either 29th seed Lucas Pouille or Max Marterer in the third round and he would be backing his chances of getting through to the last 16.
Earlier, Milos Raonic survived a marathon four-setter on Rod Laver Arena against 2014 champion Stan Wawrinka to make it through to the last 32.
Four tiebreakers were needed to decide a winner, with 16th seed Raonic, who fired done 39 aces, prevailing 6-7 (4-7), 7-6 (8-6), 7-6 (13-11), 7-6 (7-5) in a contest lasting just over four hours.
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