After a slow start to the season, it’s all coming together in Paris for Alexei Popyrin, who has produced his best singles showing at Roland Garros.
Paris, France, 29 May 2025 | Matt Trollope
Alexei Popyrin’s straight-sets win in the second round of Roland Garros on Wednesday left the Australian star feeling extremely satisfied.
“I think that was probably the most solid match I’ve played all year,” he told Stan Sport after overwhelming Alejandro Tabilo 7-5 6-3 6-4, sending him through to the last 32 for the first time in Paris.
“It’s how I want to play from now on, and it’s the kind of level that I want to bring day in and day out.”
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Popyrin’s stats sheet supports this assessment. It showed he’d crushed 37 winners while keeping his unforced errors to 26, won 75 per cent of his first serve points, and sent down eight aces, attaining a peak serve speed of 214km/h.
It was the kind of controlled, relentless aggression that has vaulted the Australian significantly higher in the rankings in the past 12 months; he’s the 25th seed this fortnight at Roland Garros.
Last year’s run to the third round of the Paris 2024 Olympics at the same venue had a confidence-boosting impact.
He followed that immediately with his first ATP Masters title in Montreal – beating three top-10 players along the way – and an upset victory over Novak Djokovic to reach the fourth round of the US Open, his best Slam result.
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These performances elevated him in the pecking order of the men’s tour, but the Sydneysider struggled to replicate that level when season 2025 began.
He lost his first four matches of the season and by the end of the hardcourt segment in Miami his win-loss record stood at 2-7.
Everything changed when he returned to clay.
Popyrin stormed to the quarterfinals of the Monte Carlo Masters and the same stage in Geneva last week, arriving in Paris with wind in his sails.
“Going into French Open this year I really felt positive about my game, and I keep saying that because it’s really what I felt like on the practice courts and also during the matches,” Popyrin said.
“I really feel like I’ve kind of developed my game quite well over the claycourt season and yeah, it’s working quite well this week.”
By getting past Yoshihito Nishioka in round one, and then Tabilo on Wednesday, Popyrin improves his 2025 claycourt record to 8-5. And that number could keep improving, given how his draw has opened up.
Instead of a projected third-round meeting with No.7 seed and reigning Madrid champion Casper Ruud, Popyrin will instead face Nuno Borges, who overcame the ailing Norwegian in a second-round boilover in Paris.
Popyrin is wary of the Portuguese talent, who reached the fourth round at Australian Open 2024 and who won their most recent meeting in 2023 – albeit on a hard court at the Phoenix Challenger.
But he is also motivated to boost his points tally, after improving to 56th in Race to the ATP Finals and No.21 in the ATP live rankings.
“I think the only ranking I should be looking at is the race, because for me, I know I’ve got a big chunk in August to defend, with Montreal and US Open, so for me it’s important to pick up as many points,” he explained.
“But I’m not thinking about that – I’m just thinking about trying to consistently win matches every week.”
Popyrin will face Borges on Friday at Roland Garros, with a place in the fourth round on the line.
