Alexei Popyrin est en huitièmes de Roland-Garros 2025. L'Australien a vaincu Nuno Borges et aura un coup à jouer contre Tommy Paul pour une place en quarts.
« Le tennis, partout & toujours ici », sur https://www.tennisactu.net / Tennis Actu
00:00BNP Paribas, partenaire des plus belles histoires de Roland-Garros, aux côtés des ramasseurs de balles depuis plus de 50 ans.
00:17Yeah, it was a really good match for my point. Yeah, happy, like you said, that I wrapped it up in three sets. I think, yeah, it was really hot out there. It's really difficult conditions. Yeah, I think I played first set and a half like really, really solid how I've been playing all week. And then he kind of had a little bit of a mental slip up there at the end of the second set, but managed to dig deep in the tie break.
00:41And then the third set was just a, you know, I think it was more a mental battle and a physical battle on my side, just trying to hold serve and then, you know, trying to get opportunities on his return, which I had towards the end. But yeah, I still managed to kind of keep my head and still play well in the tie break.
00:59Great. Questions, please.
01:00Alexei, you were searching for this super consistency, but those are the two, do you think, back-to-back, the two best games, matches you've played, you know, this season?
01:19I would say, I would say throughout the clay court season, it's been pretty consistent. There's been a few dips here and there and a few losses that I wasn't quite happy with. But throughout the clay court season, it's been really consistent on my end.
01:37But yeah, I think from the start of Geneva, it's been kind of like, it's been the sole focus of how we want to play and how we want to perform. And yeah, coming into French Open, it's actually been really good. The first three matches have been consistent, not dropping a set and, you know, trying to finish the matches as quickly as possible.
01:57Alexei, well done. Through to the last 16 now for the second time in the major, can you take anything from New York last year or is the circumstances, not Arthur Ashe, team, et cetera, team changes, does that make any difference?
02:15Can you take anything from the match, basically, and your experience there?
02:18Yeah, I think you can. I think I know how I'm going to be feeling in a fourth round of a slam. I'm going into the fourth round against Foe in the US Open.
02:26And I had no idea how I was going to feel, especially coming off a match like in the third round against Novak.
02:33I think, you know, you get the highs of the emotional highs and then, you know, you top that off with the physical stress.
02:40You know, you're never going to be 100% going into a fourth round of a slam.
02:43So that's something I can kind of learn from and which we have.
02:49But then again, the first three rounds have been nowhere near as tough as that Novak match in the third round there.
02:56So it's actually positive on my side.
02:59I'm feeling quite good considering the circumstances of it being a fourth round of a slam.
03:05So, yeah, hopefully I can keep feeling that way.
03:11Alexei, I liked your quote the other day how you said you don't struggle getting up to play the big matches,
03:16the big names on the big arenas, but you struggle more with the consistency against the lower-ranked players,
03:21maybe the players you're meant to beat.
03:23I'm just wondering, is that something you can work on off the court with, you know, mindset, concentration,
03:29or is it things that just come with matches?
03:31I think it's more of a mindset, not concentration kind of mindset,
03:36but mindset of being consistent.
03:40And that's what I've been talking about all week, I think.
03:42The consistency part, that consistency aspect of me playing matches
03:47and the way I play these matches is where, okay, you can play your best tennis against a top-ten player,
03:54but when you play a player ranked around 40, 50, 60, and you're the favourite,
03:59you have to bring that consistent level, that level that you play against a top player.
04:03And that's what I struggled with, and I think kind of changing the mindset into being a little bit more consistent,
04:10not going for, you know, winners at the first opportunity, trying to build a point up,
04:15I think that helps, and that's kind of the way we've been focusing the first,
04:19well, since the start of the clay, and it's been working well.
04:22Alex, you're just going back to today's match, with that second set tiebreak,
04:31you served for the set, I think it was a couple of times,
04:34I think you faced a set point as well.
04:39What was that element of relief when that set was in your hands?
04:44Yeah, it was very important.
04:47You know, I think going two sets to love up or one set all is a completely different ballgame,
04:51so to be able to get through that tiebreak, you know, I had two opportunities to serve for the set,
04:56and wasn't able to do it, considering how well I served the whole match,
05:00that was quite a surprise, those were the only two times that I was broken in the whole match,
05:05and it was just a weird kind of four or five games.
05:10And then, yeah, going through that tiebreak, it was really tight, and I knew how important it was,
05:15but at the same time, I just tried to keep focused on my serve,
05:19and then when the opportunity arose on my return, then I would try and capitalise on it,
05:23and, you know, that's kind of what happened.
05:26And now as you look ahead, with Tommy Paul, and he's had two back-to-back five setters,
05:33do you think that will play a part in coming up against him?
05:39Honestly, I think Tommy is one of the fittest guys on tour.
05:43You know, the work he puts in the gym, the work he puts off the court,
05:46I think he's only going to come out on Sunday and play normal.
05:52And for me, it's very important not to think about the fact that he's played two five setters.
05:57It's to keep focusing on myself and to keep focusing on the way that I've been playing
06:00for the last two weeks and trying to just bring that level again,
06:05but trying to bring that consistent level.
06:07And for me, that's the most important part, not to focus on how he feels
06:10or what he'd done in previous rounds.
06:12I know how fit he is, and I think the whole tour knows how fit he is,
06:16so he's not going to come out there and show you that he's tired, that's for sure.
06:22Alexi, when you were serving as well as you were first set and a half,
06:25do you ever sort of catch yourself thinking,
06:26God, I'm serving well here, this is going really well, and then it comes out of it?
06:30I mean, how do you stop that?
06:32I would like to say I'm used to serving that well.
06:35No, but to be fair, I think when you do serve well, you can get carried away
06:40and kind of try and go for bigger serves and trying to get as many aces as possible.
06:47And it was very important for me to kind of keep the variety of my first serve,
06:51trying to keep him just so that he doesn't get used to my serve.
06:56And that's what happened towards the end of the second set,
06:58is he started getting used to my serve.
07:01He started returning from his backhand wing very, very well,
07:04didn't make many return errors from that wing.
07:08And I was kind of like trying to still serve through that backhand wing,
07:13and it was a little bit of a fault on my part,
07:16but then I kind of adjusted in the tiebreak and managed to kind of serve it out.
07:21And then in the third set, the serve was probably the most important thing for me.
07:24I was feeling physically a little bit tired.
07:28So, yeah, serving it out was very important for me.
07:31And, yeah, I tend to think to myself that I'm capable of serving like this every day.
07:38Alex, it feels like you're playing quite tactical at the moment,
07:41just like changing variety, where you're sort of returning from, serving from.
07:44Is that something that's like planned pretty much with Neva,
07:48or is it sort of you making in-game adjustments?
07:50It's a kind of way – it's kind of been like a focus of ours for the last year and a half,
07:59especially on the serve side.
08:01I've got a big serve.
08:02I like to serve big, and it's really hard for me to slow it down.
08:07And I think it's really important to do it.
08:10But then muscle memory kicks in when it's a tight moment
08:14and you want to go for that big serve again.
08:15And you've got to, like, fight those demons and try and hit a slower serve
08:19to kind of change up the rhythm, especially in those tight moments.
08:22And that's kind of the focus that we've had.
08:25And he's been banging his head against the door trying to explain it to me.
08:29And it's finally starting to soak in a little bit in my head.
08:32And so it's a very – it's the way we want to serve from now on, you know,
08:37change pace, not just go for the big serve all the time.
08:41And then, yeah, surprise them with a big serve every now and then.
08:46You talked about Tommy in terms of fitness recovery before.
08:49The first meeting between you two and Clay, unless you've played as a junior,
08:54but I don't think whatever.
08:55What else does he bring to the table?
08:57Look, he also is a player that serves with a lot of variety,
09:02plays with a lot of variety, likes to come in, serve in volleys.
09:06Not quite sure if he's a grinder or an aggressive player,
09:09but he's kind of a good mould between the two.
09:12So he's able to do both really, really well.
09:14And that's why he's ranked where he is ranked.
09:16And that's why he's playing at the level he's playing.
09:18So it's definitely going to be a tough match.
09:21I think we all know that.
09:22And, yeah, I'm just looking forward to the challenge
09:25and hopefully I can bring the level that I've been bringing the last two weeks.
09:30Last question.
09:34Start of the tournament.
09:36Could you imagine you'd be the last Aussie man standing?
09:40That's a difficult question, I think.
09:44You know, we all expected Demon to be in the fourth round.
09:48I think he's probably the most consistent player on tour.
09:50So, yeah, I don't think I could have thought that.
09:55But that's the case now and I'm only focusing on myself for now.
10:00You know, I want to keep going as far as I can.
10:03And that's all I'm thinking about now.
10:05And when you go into an event like one of the majors,
10:10what do you say to yourself or what do you think to yourself
10:14that you set a target, I'm going to go this far,
10:20I can go at least this far,
10:22or, I mean, a cliche of one match at a time,
10:26but what do you feel realistically when you come into a major?
10:31It's to play the best possible way that I can play.
10:36And if I play that way, then who knows what I'm able to do, you know?
10:41And it is a cliche answer.
10:42It is one match at a time, all the time.
10:44It's not thinking ahead, but at the same time,
10:47it's the development over the practices that we've been having
10:51and trying to bring that level that we have in practice into the match.
10:54and that's the most important thing for me
10:57and that's the way kind of I prepare myself mentally
11:01and we prepare ourselves mentally as a team going into matches,
11:04going into first round, second round, third round,
11:05is to try and just play the way we've been practicing
11:08and do what we've been working on throughout the whole clay court season.
11:13And if I'm able to do that, then I think, you know,
11:17I think the results show that I'm able to go deep in tournaments.
