Australian tennis star Alexei Popyrin expressed regret over a “lost opportunity” following his defeat to American Francis Tiafoe in the fourth round of the US Open. Popyrin, 25, was unable to maintain the momentum he had gained after his stunning victory over defending champion Novak Djokovic, eventually losing to world No. 20 Tiafoe in four sets, 4-6, 6-7, 6-2, 3-6.
Popyrin’s nerves appeared to get the better of him during the second set, where he squandered three set points while serving at 5-3. In the fourth set, he dropped serve and conceded a double break early, allowing Tiafoe to close out the match without the need for a fifth set.
After the match, Popyrin candidly assessed his performance, acknowledging the missed opportunity. “I’ve been saying all week that against these top players, you have to take your chances when they come. Obviously, being up 5-3, 40-love on my serve, it was a really big choke from my end,” Popyrin said. “From there, the momentum shifted to his side. I did well to hold my serve and take it to a tiebreak, but he had the momentum, and that’s just how it went. That 5-3 game was an opportunity lost, and I think if I had won that set, the match could have gone differently.”
Despite the loss, Popyrin reflected on his overall achievements, noting that reaching the fourth round of a Grand Slam for the first time was a significant milestone. “If you had told me at the start of the summer that I would be 23rd in the world, with a Masters title and making it to the second week of a Slam for the first time, I probably would have taken it, considering where I was,” he added.
Tiafoe acknowledged that he “got lucky” in the second set and praised Popyrin’s performance and potential. “Alexei has been playing unbelievably,” Tiafoe said. “He showed his level tonight, and it was really high. I had to come up with some great stuff to win.”
Meanwhile, two other Australians remain in the men’s singles bracket, with the certainty of one advancing to the quarterfinals. No. 10 ranked Alex de Minaur will face off against Jordan Thompson on Tuesday at 7 a.m. AEST. Thompson, ranked No. 33 and unseeded at the US Open, has already defeated No. 7 Hubert Hurkacz and No. 30 Matteo Arnaldi on his way to the fourth-round clash. The winner of the all-Australian match will play either Jack Draper or Tomáš Macháč.
Additionally, other Australians are still competing in the US Open, including Max Purcell and Jordan Thompson in the men’s doubles quarterfinals, Ellen Perez in the third round of women’s doubles, and Olympic gold medalist Matthew Ebden in the mixed doubles quarterfinals.
