A heartbroken Alexei Popyrin was left lamenting what could have happened after crashing out in the first round last night.
Popyrin failed to capitalize on several opportunities in a 2-6, 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (10-4) loss to France’s Alexandre Muller in a roller-coaster match that lasted just four hours at the John Cain Arena.
Alexei Popyrin was not enough in his opening round.Credit: Getty Images
Popyrin led 4-2 in the fourth set and then 5-2 in the tiebreak and 5-3 in the fifth, but was unable to finish off Muller, leaving the 26-year-old Australian running out of answers after a grueling encounter.
It’s a disappointment for the Australian, who said he thought he should have won the match.
“Yeah, disappointing. Obviously not happy. I felt like I was in control almost the whole game,” he said at the post-match press conference.
“I couldn’t close it out. That’s about it. I felt like when the balls were new and the court was playing a little bit faster, I was in complete control.”
“Once the balls started getting a little bit older, you know, he moves well and grinds really well, so that’s in his favor.
Popyrin said he served well but failed to capitalize on key moments.
“I think I couldn’t make the finish almost three times today and that’s really disappointing,” he said.
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