Old stars inspire young gun Alexei Popyrin

Alexei Popyrin’s favourite memory from the All England Club comes as a surprise.

Australia’s Alexei Popyrin. Picture: Getty Images

Given the youth of Australia’s Wimbledon debutant Alexei ­Popyrin, his favourite memory from the All England Club comes as a surprise.

The Sydneysider was just two when, in 2001, Roger Federer upset Pete Sampras in one of the finest fourth-round matches played at Wimbledon.

Most Australian tennis fans will remember that year’s Wimbledon edition with some pain, no more so than Pat Rafter, who was edged in the final by Goran Ivanisevic. But due to a predilection to watch past greats via YouTube, Popyrin’s preference lies elsewhere.

Sampras was the established legend and Federer, who will play a record 21st Wimbledon, was only 19 and yet to fully harness his incredible talent.

The future king prevailed when edging the four-time defending champion in a five-set thriller and Popyrin could describe just about every shot played.

“I watched that match about 50 times on replay. I’ve watched it so many times I know what will happen on every point but it is my absolute favourite,” he told The Weekend Australian.

“I think (my favourite aspect) is the control the young guy had, backing himself in against Sampras, who is a legend.

“The standard … was unbelievable and it is my favourite memory.”

Popyrin arrives for his Wimbledon debut at the same age Federer was when he truly announced himself to the world.

And the 2017 French Open boys champion does so after enjoying another big week in a stellar breakthrough season that has made the tennis world take note.

On Monday, the 19-year-old broke into the top 100 for the first time and then qualified for the world’s most famous tournament.

He booked his debut by defeating Bjorn Frantangelo 6-3 7-6(6) 6-7(4) 7-6(6) in the third round. He will face former top 10 player Pablo Carreno Busta of Spain in Wimbledon’s first round. Russian-born Australian Arina Rodionova also won through in the women’s draw.

Popyrin described qualifying as particularly gratifying after having received wildcards for his three prior grand slam appearances.

“I think going into any tournament I can cause damage, especially on grass,” Popyrin said.

“It’s definitely a dream come true. I did it the hard way … but (I’m) definitely happy to be in the main draw.”

Popyrin has progressed well over the past month. Interviewed just after the French Open, the teenager said he had few expectations for the grass court season, having not played on the surface since junior Wimbledon in 2016.

But the addition of 1987 Wimbledon champion Pat Cash to his coaching team has helped.

Popyrin watched Cash’s 1987 Australian Open final against Stefan Edberg at Kooyong via YouTube and was inspired by his athleticism and grass court nous.

And the Cash consultancy — Popyrin works full-time with a coach from the Patrick Mouratoglou Academy in Nice — has proved fruitful.

The teenager also qualified for Stuttgart, where he pushed former Wimbledon finalist Milos Raonic to a third-set tie-breaker.

The powerful Australian is blessed with a strong serve and solid all-court game.

He is also extremely agile for his height.

This came in handy when, as a boy, he showed considerable promise in soccer as a striker.

But Popyrin says that when it comes to the (big) round ball, his Davis Cup teammate Alex de Minaur is the pick.

Similarly to his Davis Cup teammate, Popyrin has spent as much of his life abroad as in Australia.

The Popyrins, Russian immigrants, moved from Sydney to Dubai when Alexei was nine for business and then on to Alicante, where the de Minaurs also settled.

Popyrin first remembers setting eyes on the Australian No 1, who is a year older, at a junior tournament in Croatia when he was 10.

They later played doubles in junior tournaments in France and went on to represent Australia in junior Davis Cups alongside another talent in Blake Ellis, who partnered Popyrin at this year’s Australian Open.

He feels the move and the exposure to different cultures as much as the depth of talent through Europe has helped his development and resilience.

“I think of it as something that has brought me some sort of maturity. You travel the world, you see the world, you see how different people live,” Popyrin said.

After winning the boys title at Roland Garros, Popyrin has plotted a measured path.

He spent the remainder of 2017 playing Futures tournaments before transitioning, largely, to Challenger ranks last year after beginning the year with a ranking of 621.

This year the focus has been on the grand slams and ATP Tour and the big stages in tennis.

Popyrin, who is an avid golfer who also enjoys reading and sharpening his PlayStation skills when not training, has shown considerable promise.

He was the last local man left alive at the Australian Open when reaching the third round and made a successful senior Davis Cup debut in February.

He also won a round on debut at Roland Garros against Frenchman Ugo Humbert last month.

It was a victory he found particularly satisfying given it ­silenced the partisan Parisians in support of the local.

“I had never had the crowd against me to the extent that I did in France. I enjoyed it. I would rather play with the crowd against me than play with no crowd at all,’ he said.

“It gives the match that extra spice and I reckon it helped me out there. I knew that helped me with my level and my focus. You definitely have to be strong, to stay mentally tough.”