This is Alexei Popyrin: Ed Sheeran, golf & his dream

Alexei Popyrin became just the third active Australian to reach an ATP Masters 1000 final when he defeated Sebastia Korda to advance to the championship match of the Omnium Banque National presente par Rogers.

Popyrin is the lowest-ranked finalist at the tournament since World No. 144 Harel Levy finished runner-up in 2000 to Marat Safin. The 25-year-old is up to No. 30 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings and would climb to No. 23 with a title Monday.

Earlier in the week, ATPTour.com caught up with Popyrin to get to know him better off the court.

If you could have dinner with any three people, who would they be and why?
I’d go with Tim Cahill, he’s a footballer who I looked up to when I was a kid, probably one of the few sportsmen that I’m actually a huge fan of. I’d go to dinner with Ed Sheeran, he’s my favourite artist by far. I love his music, I’ve loved it for a long time, so him. His is the only concert I’ve ever been to. I’d go with my family and girlfriend.

What’s your favourite Ed Sheeran song?
It’s an old one. It’s called You Need Me, I Don’t Need You. It’s an old one, of the first songs he ever released.

If you could switch places with anyone for a day, who would it be?
I’d switch places with probably the richest person in the world to see what it’s like to have that much money, but that’s about it.

What is something fans might not know about you that you think is interesting?
I love sports in general, all the sports. You name the sport, I love to watch it. I also think when people don’t know me, they probably think I’m an arrogant guy [because of the way I walk], but I’m actually quite a nice guy. I’ve been told a few times by now close friends of mine that when they first saw me, they saw my strut and how I walk around and they thought I was quite arrogant. But they ended up liking me!

If you could play any match in the history of tennis, which would it have been?
I probably would have played the Australian Open final between Djokovic and Nadal, the one when they had to sit down during the ceremony. I’d want to see how they were feeling and how hard they pushed their bodies.

What are your favourite hobbies?
Sports. Golf. Right now it’s golf. Every free chance I get I play golf. I travel with my clubs to some tournaments. Every free moment I get I try to get on the golf course and play.

If you had to pick players from the Tour for a golf group who would you pick?
I’ll go with Demon [Alex de Minaur], we’ve played a few times. He’s a little bit better than I am, he has a great swing. I’d go with probably Sebi Korda. He’s unbelievable at golf. And I’d probably go with Rafa. I want to see that golf swing in person!

What’s the coolest perk you’ve gotten from being a tennis player?
I actually got to meet just last week, the Olympic team got to meet Min Woo Lee, the golfer. We got to meet him. We spent the whole Opening Ceremony together and that was quite fun.

What was your pinch-me moment on Tour?
When I beat [Taylor] Fritz at the [2023] Australian Open. That was coming off a year that was really, really tough for me. Then to have a high like that, it was only the second round, but for me it was huge at the time because I hadn’t won many matches for a year and a bit. I was coming off a really big slump and to beat a Top 10 player at home on a huge court in front of a huge court, that for sure still is my favourite memory of my professional career.

If you could achieve one thing on or off the court, what would it be?
On the court I would like to win a Slam. Off the court, I want to have a really, really nice family. I’m a huge family guy and for me, I want children. I want two or three children. We’ll see what my girlfriend says about that! But I’d want a really nice family and for everybody to live comfortably and happy.

You travel all over the world. If there’s one place you’d like to visit where would it be?
Seychelles. I’ve been to Seychelles, but I was only there for three days on a short holiday that my girlfriend and I had last year. Honestly, it’s probably the most beautiful place I’ve ever been to and I really want to go back there and just experience it for like a month or two months, because it’s absolutely amazing.

[NEWSLETTER FORM]