Alexei Popyrin had never stepped onto Arthur Ashe Stadium until about 20 minutes before he played Novak Djokovic there in the third round of the 2024 US Open. He had lost all three of his previous matches against Djokovic, and all six of his previous third-round matches at the majors. He won 6-4, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4, hitting 50 winners, with Lleyton Hewitt watching from his box.
“I’ve been in the third round about 15 times in my career, but I haven’t been able to get past to the fourth round,” Popyrin said on court. “And to be able to do it against the greatest of all time to get into the fourth round, it’s unbelievable.”
That night and the Canadian Open title he had won three weeks earlier are the two results that define the Australian’s career so far.
Key facts
- Nationality: Australia
- Born: 1999, Sydney
- Career-high ranking: No. 19 (August 2025)
- ATP titles: 3 (Singapore 2021, Umag 2023, Canadian Open 2024)
- Best Grand Slam result: fourth round, 2024 US Open
- Junior highlight: 2017 Roland Garros boys’ singles champion; junior No. 2
Junior title and the qualifying years
Popyrin finished his junior career on a 17-match winning streak that ended with the boys’ singles title at Roland Garros in 2017. He peaked at No. 2 in the junior rankings.
The step up took time. In 2019 he came through qualifying at 10 tour-level events, which equalled the single-season record set by Mischa Zverev in 2016. It was a season spent earning his way into draws rather than being seeded in them.
Titles
Singapore, 2021. His first tour-level semifinal, first final and first title came in the same week. He beat Alexander Bublik 4-6, 6-0, 6-2 in the final.
Umag, 2023. On clay in Croatia, he came from a set down to beat former champion Stan Wawrinka 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-4.
Canadian Open, Montreal, 2024. The biggest title of his career. He won five straight matches against top-20 opponents and saved three match points against Grigor Dimitrov in the third round, then beat Andrey Rublev 6-2, 6-4 in the final. He became the first Australian to win a Masters 1000 title since Hewitt in 2003.
The Djokovic match
Popyrin went into the 2024 US Open seeded 28th, the first time he had been seeded at a major. The Djokovic he met on the Friday night was the defending champion, weeks removed from the Olympic gold in Paris. Djokovic hit 14 double faults and called his serving “by far the worst ever.” Popyrin closed the fourth set by holding to love, ending the match when Djokovic sent a forehand long.
“If he serves well, plays well, he can beat anybody,” Djokovic said of him afterwards. It was Djokovic’s earliest US Open exit since 2006, when he lost to Hewitt, the man sitting in Popyrin’s box. Next for Popyrin, in his first Grand Slam fourth round, was Frances Tiafoe.
Playing style
The serve is the weapon. Djokovic’s verdict after their match was that Popyrin can beat anybody when he serves and plays well. His biggest weeks have been the ones where it held, as in the closing game on Ashe. The rest of the record is less even: his career win-loss record at tour level is below .500.
Season Snapshot — as of 16 September 2026
Popyrin reached his career-high No. 19 in August 2025, after a quarterfinal run in Toronto as the defending champion. He has since fallen outside the top 100. At the 2026 US Open he beat Dimitrov in four sets in the first round, then lost in the second round to 25th seed Alejandro Tabilo. He has represented Australia in the Davis Cup.
More player profiles are in the GTN profiles index.
