Alexei Popyrin earned the third Top 10 win of his career on Monday when he upset World No. 6 Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-4, 7-6(5) to reach the second round at the Adelaide International 1.
After coming through qualifying, the Australian quickly found his range, hammering the ball off both wings to take time away from the Canadian, who was competing for the first time this season.
Popyrin struck 11 aces and rallied from 1-4 in the second set, holding his nerve in the second-set tie-break to advance after one hour and 53 minutes in his first ATP Head2Head meeting against Auger-Aliassime. The World No. 120, who has also earned Top 10 victories against Dominic Thiem and Stefanos Tsitsipas, will next face American Marcos Giron.
Auger-Aliassime held a 60-27 record in 2022, lifting four tour-level titles. However, the 22-year-old was unable to find his best level, misfiring at key moments in his first match of the year.
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