Popyrin Keeps Finding His Best in Canada

There’s something about Canada that just seems to bring out the best in Alexei Popyrin.

“Ever since I was a junior, I felt good in Canada. I don't know why. I've played well in juniors. I've played well here in pros. I just wish there were more tournaments here!” Popyrin, who is now 8-0 in professional matches in Canada, said with a laugh. “I think this stretch of hard court suits my game. It's a bit quicker, it's a bit livelier. My serve works here, and I kind of feel comfortable in return also on second serve. So when I feel like that, then I start playing my game and I start feeling my game better.”

Under the bright lights of Sobeys Stadium on Thursday evening, the 25-year-old Australian — who has admittedly had a difficult season — showed glimpses of the same form that had propelled him last year to his first ATP Masters 1000 title at the National Bank Open presented by Rogers in Montreal.

In a titanic tussle between former champions that ended about 10 minutes shy of 1 a.m., defending champion Popyrin rallied from a set down to defeat 2021 winner and No. 10 seed Daniil Medvedev, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4, to set up a fourth-round clash with No. 5-seeded Dane Holger Rune.

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Popyrin, for most of the two-and-a-half hour clash, was the better player. The No. 18 seed jumped out to an early break in all three sets, combining his big serve with a willingness to finish points off at the net. Midway through the opening set, Medvedev was finally able to get his teeth into the match, using his unorthodox flat groundstrokes to outlast Popyrin from the back of the court. After dropping serve to lose the opener (with Medvedev hitting a powerful backhand down the middle on set point), Popyrin broke in the opening game of sets two and three, reverting back to his game plan of giving Medvedev different looks with his volleys and drop shots.

“I think when I'm playing well, it's on my terms,” Popyrin said after the match. “So I think just starting off like that, I felt like I could have won the match in two sets. I just faltered a little bit in the middle of that first set. I did the same thing against him in Rome [earlier this year]. I relaxed. I was feeling quite comfortable. I was feeling the ball incredible. And when you do that against him, when you kind of relax like that and you start feeling great and you start giving him rhythm, that's when he starts playing [well]. I think he's the best in the world when you give him rhythm.

“My tactic against him always is to just give him a different rhythm and try and approach [the net] and be aggressive,” he continued. “That's what I strayed back to in the second and third set. And yeah, it worked out.”

Coming into his title defence at the National Bank Open, Popyrin had won just 12 of his 28 matches (43%) of his matches this season. With his big serve and all-court game, the Aussie theoretically could have been a major threat at Wimbledon, where he reached the third round last year. But after losing his opener at SW19, Popyrin admits he began to feel the pressure of having to defend a huge chunk of his ranking points during the North American hardcourt swing.

“About two months ago, I started feeling it a little bit because results weren't going well, especially during the grass court season. I felt like I could have tried and defended a little bit of points there for this tournament,” Popyrin said. “But when results aren't quite going your way, you're not feeling your game, you start feeling the pressure. But when it comes to this week, you kind of just face it. You just accept that quite probably you'll drop outside the Top 50 if you don't win matches, and you just face it. And that's what I did this week, and it's kind of like a weight off my shoulder now and I'm just playing free.”

Having just won a big match over one of the most consistent players of the last five years, does the Aussie now believe that he could make another run for the National Bank Open title? “Man, who knows, bro?” Popyrin responded with a smile. “I don't know. I wasn't thinking like that last year, so I'm not going to think about it this year.”

The ATP's best return to Toronto this summer for the National Bank Open presented by Rogers July 26 to Aug. 7, 2025 at Sobeys Stadium. 2025 Tickets are on sale. Get your tickets today!

Feature Photo : Peter Power