Australian tennis legend John Newcombe believes Alexei Popyrin has the talent to become a top 10 player. Popyrin had a breakout year in 2024, winning the Montreal Masters 1000 and reaching the fourth round of the US Open. Newcombe praised Popyrin's weapons and his improved net game.
The tennis action is heating up on both sides of the Tasman ahead of the Australian Open , with Katie Boulter giving Great Britain a win in the women's singles in its United Cup tie against Argentina. Alexei Popyrin has the weapons to reach the world top 10, according to Australian tennis legend John Newcombe . World number 24 Popyrin will be seeded for the first time at next month's Australian Open and is knocking on the door of the top 20 after a stunning breakout year.
Popyrin's 2024 was headlined by his Masters 1000 triumph in Montreal and a seismic upset of the great Novak Djokovic to reach the fourth round of the US Open. The 25-year-old's progression has Newcombe believing the dangerous Popyrin can aspire to even bigger and better things. 'He's got some real weapons and I love the way he's been playing this year,' Newcombe said ahead of Popyrin's first match of the summer at this week's Brisbane International. 'He's another one who's started to come to the net more instead of hanging round the baseline and he's vastly improved his volleys. 'When he's confident, he's hitting his backhand very well, so he just needs to get a bit more confidence in that. 'But if he keeps going the way he's going and keeps improving how he's been improving and gets to really believe in himself, he's a top-10 player.' While Alex de Minaur was clearly the pick of Australia's tennis players in 2024, Popyrin could soon be hot on the heels of his Davis Cup teammate. The former junior French Open champion has reached the third round at Melbourne Park three times and will be attempting to progress to the second week for the first time. Throw in resilience and his willingness to rev up the local crowd and there's all the ingredients for something special.'So if he does what I was just talking about, he's definitely top-10 material. It's still early days in the women's singles rubber between Greece and Kazakhstan across in the wes
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