Popyrin On Nadal Showdown: 'I Don't Mind Being The Underdog'
Alexei Popyrin will have one of the biggest opportunities in his young career on Thursday when he faces top seed Rafael Nadal for the first time at the Mutua Madrid Open. For those who aren’t familiar with the Aussie, he will not be defeated mentally before the match begins.
“I’m not going to go out there thinking I’m going to lose one and one. I’m going to give it my all, put in a fight. I’m going to go out there believing that I can actually play because I believe I do have the level to play with him, even if it is his favourite surface, [even] if he is playing at home,” Popyrin said. “All the cards are in his favour right now, but I don’t mind being the underdog. I have been the underdog for most of my career, so I’m glad to be able to be one [here].”
This year’s Singapore champion doesn’t plan to let the moment get to him, and he won’t be intimidated by the legend across the net. Instead, Popyrin is going to focus on having fun.
“He’s the greatest of all-time on clay courts. I would have preferred to play him maybe on grass or hard courts, but that’s not the chance here,” Popyrin said, cracking a laugh. “I’ve got to play him on his favourite surface and he’s the greatest of all-time on this surface and one of the greatest of all-time [period].
“I’m just going to go out there, have fun, going to [use] a little bit of tactics, maybe watch a little bit of his 2009 loss against Soderling. Maybe I can get some tips from there. Other than that, I’m just go out there and have fun.”
Popyrin doesn’t just want to watch that memorable Soderling victory from Roland Garros in 2009 because it was a match Nadal lost on clay. The Aussie believes there are similarities between his game and the Swede’s.
“I see big serve, big forehand. I’m not going to watch how Thiem beats him or how anybody else who is not big [plays him]. Maybe Del Potro, but I don’t know if he beat him on clay,” Popyrin said. “That’s a match I can think of from the top of my head that the games are pretty similar, and that’s what I want to watch. Hopefully I can do what he did, but that’s going to be tough.”
The World No. 76 was certainly not handed a spot in the third round. Popyrin earned it with exceptional play in the second round, taking the action to Jannik Sinner, who is one of the biggest hitters on the ATP Tour.
“I think my game is up there with the people who are ranked inside the Top 20. It’s just a matter of time until I figure it out and not give away cheap points when I don’t have to,” Popyrin said. “I think that’s been my main downfall and that’s something I have been trying to work on. When it does come together, I’m not surprised.”
This won’t be Popyrin’s first big challenge against a top player this year. In Miami, he had Daniil Medvedev against the ropes. But despite cramping, the Russian found a way to win 7-6(3), 6-7(7), 6-4 after two hours and 37 minutes.
“I came into the match against him feeling confident I could match his level. That’s what I did, apart from a few sloppy points what I said earlier that I want to get rid of in my game. In important moments, [playing] sloppy points, that’s what cost me the match against him,” Popyrin said. “That’s something that I want to get rid of in my game, and once I do that, I think I’ll be fine.”
Popyrin admitted that when he arrived in Madrid, he didn’t carry much confidence on clay. The 21-year-old had not made it past the second round of the main draw in three previous clay-court events this year. But that hasn’t stopped him from finding his form at the Caja Magica.
“It’s just a matter of getting everything to click together, not to lose that belief. But going into this week, I didn’t have the best confidence, especially playing the first round [of] qualifying,” Popyrin said. “I think that was my hardest match mentally to kind of get the motivation to qualify again and then to play on clay courts. But I think I brought my confidence back now, to be honest. I’m just excited for tomorrow.”
Did You Know?
Popyrin is at a career-high No. 76 and he will climb to a new career-high after his performance this week regardless of whether he defeats Nadal. The Aussie is not defending any ranking points in Madrid or Rome (where he is entered in qualifying), and is only defending 45 points at Roland Garros.