Felix Auger-Aliassime has started his 2023 season with a loss after falling in straight sets to 23-year-old Alexei Popyrin at the Adelaide International.
The Canadian second seed failed to capitalise on his opportunities against the qualifier as he crashed out 6-4, 7-6(5). Auger-Aliassime was broken at 4-4 in the first set and then failed to maintain a 4-1 lead in the second. It is the third time Popyrin has defeated a top-10 player but the first time he has done so without there being a mid-match retirement.
“I’m pretty happy, it’s obviously an unbelievable feeling,” said Popyrin, who is now coached by Xavier Malisse.
“I had a really, really tough season last year and to come out after qualifying and to beat a player of his quality just showed the work I did in the off-season is paying off already.”
The impressive win by the world No.120 saw him hit 11 aces and win 22 points at the net, which was double that of his opponent.
Auger-Aliassime’s loss comes after what was an impressive end to 2022 for the Canadian who won three straight titles in October. He then went on to reach the semi-finals of the Paris Masters before playing in the year-end ATP Finals.
“I feel like momentum plays a huge role on your confidence. For me, it’s been great in the last few months,” he told reporters before his match against Popyrin.
“I try to recreate it, not just like think it’s some sort of stars aligned or some type of luck you’re just trying to ride a wave on. I think there’s reasons behind success.
“I feel like it’s about understanding why you’re succeeding constantly and trying to do it again.”
It is not the first time Auger-Aliassime has experienced a disappointing start to his year on the Tour. He has now lost his opening match in three out of the past four seasons.
Another high-profile casualty on Monday was Danish fifth seed Holger Rune who was edged out 2-6, 6-4, 6-4, by Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka despite hitting 14 aces. The 18-year-old is one of the players to watch after ending 2022 by winning 19 out of 21 matches played.
During a recent interview with TV2, Rune admitted that his off-season preparation hasn’t entirely gone to plan after encountering some problems in the Middle East.
“I got a back spasm, which set me back to where I wanted to be. I have some catching up to do with the heat and dryer weather,” he said.
Rune is set to return to action next week at the ASB Classic in New Zealand.
