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Alexei Popyrin, who celebrated his top-50 rise in season 2023, caps a memorable 12 months as one in all six Newcombe Medal nominees.
Melbourne, Australia , 8 December 2023 | Dan Imhoff
Rising from outdoors the highest 100 in March to finish the 12 months within the prime 40, Alexei Popyrin has made large strides in 2023.
The previous junior Roland Garros champion loved his strongest season on tour, which included three top-10 victories, a primary clay-court title and maiden ATP Masters 1000 quarterfinal.
Having began the 12 months as a 120th-ranked qualifier, Popyrin started with a bang in Adelaide the place he surprised then-world No.6 Felix Auger-Aliassime en path to the quarterfinals.
It proved the proper springboard to his sixth Australian Open, the place as a wildcard he channelled a boisterous dwelling crowd to upset eighth seed Taylor Fritz in a four-hour, five-set thriller to achieve the third spherical.
“This win means a lot to me. I had the hardest 12 months final 12 months. I gained as many matches this 12 months as I did the entire of final 12 months, and it’s solely January,” Popyrin stated of equalling his greatest end result at a serious.
“This pre-season I put my head down. I labored as laborious as I presumably might. I don’t need that feeling that I had final 12 months ever once more.
“I wrote (that) right down to myself in my head: I’m going to maintain working, I’m going to maintain pushing, I’m going to attempt to hold going all the best way, mate. I like this sense, and I need extra of this sense.”
The 24-year-old skilled that profitable feeling once more on the Rome Masters, the place as a qualifier he landed his second upset of Auger-Aliassime on his technique to the fourth spherical. There, he narrowly succumbed to world No.7 Holger Rune.
> READ: Australian Tennis Awards 2023 finalists revealed
In July, Popyrin took it up a stage when he denied three-time main champion Stan Wawrinka in a three-set battle for the Umag title.
He subsequently soared from world No.90 to No.57 and have become the primary Australian in 14 years to land a tour-level clay-court singles trophy.
An extra breakthrough was simply across the nook when in his subsequent occasion, as a fortunate loser, he reached his first ATP Masters 1000 quarterfinal at Cincinnati earlier than he fell to Hubert Hurkacz.
It was sufficient to carry Popyrin into the highest 40, the place he would stay for the remainder of the season.
His efforts have been rewarded in November with a Davis Cup call-up for Australia in Malaga.
In his first look within the competitors since 2021, he notched a career-first win in a stay rubber, overcoming Otto Virtanen to steer his workforce into consecutive finals.
“It’s nerves, it’s stress, you’re taking part in for everyone again dwelling,” Popyrin stated. “It’s one thing that nothing will ever evaluate to.
“Successful a 250, it gained’t evaluate to it in any respect. So for me it actually was the most important second of my profession to get the primary stay rubber win, to get one foot into the ultimate. Yeah, for me, it was one thing that I’ll always remember.”
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> RELATED: Rinky Hijikata earns first Newcombe Medal nomination
| Newcombe Medal Honour roll |
|
| 12 months | Winner |
| 2022 | Ash Barty |
| 2021 | Ash Barty and Dylan Alcott |
| 2020 | Not offered |
| 2019 | Ash Barty |
| 2018 | Ash Barty and Alex de Minaur |
| 2017 | Ash Barty |
| 2016 | Dylan Alcott |
| 2015 | Sam Groth |
| 2014 | Nick Kyrgios |
| 2013 | Lleyton Hewitt |
| 2012 | Sam Stosur |
| 2011 | Sam Stosur |
| 2010 | Sam Stosur |
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