Brisbane International 23/24: All the latest news and action from Brisbane
Australian Alexei Popyrin survived a scare against compatriot Chris O’Connell in a three-hour thriller at Brisbane on the opening day of the Brisbane International.
Aussie ace Alexei Popyrin survived a serious scare on the opening day of the Brisbane International main draw out duelling compatriot Chris O’Connell in a three-hour thriller to book his place in the second round.
Only a day after declaring he wanted to make 2024 a true breakout campaign, the 24-year-old was pushed all the way by the in-form O’Connell 6-4 6-7 (5) 7-6 (4).
The big serving Aussies traded blows in front of a near-capacity Pat Rafter Arena on Sunday but Popyrin reported with a cleaner ground game to win just the second-ever meeting between the pair.
The world No. 40 was automatic in the opening set, dropping just one point on-serve in a familiar display.
It took a stunning cross-court backhand from O’Connell to end a run of 10 straight Popyrin service points, only for the latter to continue his dominance after that.
But O’Connell was able to make headway in the second set when he broke Popyrin for an early 3-1 lead and held on to win in a tiebreak.
Twice Popyrin found himself with multiple break points in the deciding set but each time O’Connell fended him off.
It was a gritty display from the Sydneysider, who captured the crowd’s affection in the opening game of the third set with a stunning pirouette forehand winner that left Popyrin – and the fans – in awe.
Fittingly the deciding set went to a tiebreak and both players clearly felt the nerves.
O’Connell opened the door when he found the net with an open court in front of him at 4-4 and Popyrin made him pay, serving to secure the match.
It was a mature victory from the New South Welshman, who had to lean on more than just his booming serve to take the win.
“That’s a battle for the last match of the year, but what a battle it was,” Popyrin said.
“(O’Connell” played unbelievable and I had to really keep my level high to be able to win this match.
“If he continues playing like this he’ll do big things this summer, that’s for sure.
“The team that I surrounded myself with this year, we put a lot of work in … on the court it’s a lot of consistency and (being) solid mentally and I think I showed that today.
“I had a lot of opportunities in the third set to be able to go up a break and he played some unbelievable points and served some unbelievable bombs – I kept my focus, kept positive and just came through in the tiebreak.”
Popyrin will wait to meet the winner of Ben Shelton and Roman Safiullin in the second round.
Shelton ended the Aussie’s Australian Open campaign last year in the third round.
The rising young American star looms as a key litmus test for Popyrin, who this week revealed his desire to compete in the second week of Grand Slams after a string of third round exits in Melbourne.
O’Connell was the only Aussie to fall on Sunday, on what was otherwise a hugely successful day for the homegrown hopefuls.
Arina Rodionova got the ball rolling with an upset straight-sets win over former top-20 player Martina Trevisan in the morning session, while both James Duckworth and Li Tu won through their qualifying clashes.
Former world No. 1 Naomi Osaka will kick off the New Year’s Day festivities when she opens proceedings on Monday against German Tamara Korpatsch on Pat Rafter Arena.
It will mark Osaka’s first tour match in 15 months.
It begins a blockbuster day of matches headlined by the late afternoon clash between two former Brisbane International champions, Andy Murray and Grigor Dimitrov.
That match will follow the enticing encounter between rising Australian world No. 45 Max Purcell and tournament top seed, Holger Rune.
Daria Saville will close out proceedings on centre court when she plays Ukrainian qualifier Dayana Yastremska.
Kim Birrell and Olivia Gadecki face off on show court one in the afternoon in yet another all-Australian opening round pairing, while wildcard Jason Kubler will hope to spring an upset against eighth seed Aslan Karatsev.
Rafael Nadal and Thanasi Kokkinakis won’t begin their Brisbane International campaigns until Tuesday, while a host of big-name WTA stars including Aryna Sabalenka and Victoria Azarenka will also open their Australian summers later in the week.
‘Nothing compares to it’: Aussie bolters’ big Brisbane advantage
— Erin Smith
Emerging tennis stars Aleksandar Vukic and Rinky Hijikata hope the reduced pressure put on wildcards will give them an advantage at the upcoming Brisbane International.
The duo are among 20 Aussie stars to compete at the returning competition – named as wildcards on Wednesday afternoon.
Both join the competition on the back of an impressive 2023 with Hijikata creeping up to world No. 71 and Vukic to 62.
With so many Australian men in the top 100 the duo had missed out on being named in the main draw.
Both are “excited” to be offered the chance to play alongside some of the world’s top players including Rafael Nadal.
Hijikata, 22, put himself on the radar when he progressed to the fourth round of the US Open earlier this year.
But he said with so many other top performing Australian players at the moment he could “fly under the radar” at this tournament.
“The (US Open) was huge for me,” Hijikata said.
“I felt like it gave me a lot of belief, it was a little bit of a reward for a lot of hard work that has been put in not just this year but all the previous years.
“To get a taste for it was really good, it definitely makes you hungrier for more and to want to get back to that stage and be pushing to go deeper.”
This Brisbane International will be Hijikata’s first, after the tournament was put on hold post Covid-19.
“I love playing at home, nothing compares to it. I’ve had great experiences throughout the year and I’m hoping to add to that and looking forward to starting it all in Brisbane,” he said.
Vukic said it was exciting to be part of the tournament – especially with so many stars expected to compete.
“You want all the best players to be here and to play against them,” Vukic said.
“You train your whole life to come up against the best, if the best players are coming, you want to face them, it’s exciting.”
The 27-year-old said being able to start the 2024 season at home was a huge advantage.
“It’s been a really good year and very long. I’ve learnt a lot,” he said.
“We had pre-season (in Australia) and have to switch back on pretty quickly after the Christmas festivities and everything, it’s nice to ease into it, quick flight, few days of training and go again.
There is nothing like the Aussie support and three to four weeks of good tennis.”
It is expected to be warm and humid for the Brisbane International and Vukic said whatever the weather the Aussies always had a home advantage because of the crowd.
Tournament director Cameron Pearson said it was a very positive sign for Australian tennis to have so many men fighting for spots in the draw.
“Both have had a great 12 months and both deserve their spot in the main draw,” Pearson said.
“Over the years we have had slim pickings when it comes to Australians in the main draw of the Brisbane International, this year it was such a competitive field, the boys deserve their place.”
The Brisbane International runs from December 31 to January 7.
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