Alexei Popyrin Saves Two Match Points to Secure Quarter-Final Place in Monaco, Accompanied by Alex de Minaur

Alexei Popyrin battled through two match points to pull off a dramatic comeback against Casper Ruud in a thrilling three-set match, marking a brilliant day for Australian tennis at the Monte Carlo Masters.

Facing elimination at 5-3 in the final set, Popyrin rallied to win the last four games, ultimately securing a 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 victory in a grueling contest that lasted close to three hours.

Following his match at the esteemed Monaco Country Club, Alex de Minaur made quick work of Daniil Medvedev, winning 6-2, 6-2.

In his post-match comments, Popyrin expressed his desire to move past a disappointing start to the 2025 season.

Over his first seven tournaments of the year, Popyrin recorded four straight first-round exits, including at the Brisbane International and the Australian Open, followed by three second-round defeats.

In Monaco, Popyrin earlier bested Ugo Humbert and Frances Tiafoe before his showdown with Ruud, capping his victory against the Norwegian with a stunning cross-court volley — his 49th winner of the match.

“I’m 3 and 0 this year — I’m leaving behind the difficult start,” the 25-year-old stated.

“It has been a challenging start to the year, but this week marks a fresh beginning. The year is long, and I just need to focus on my training and forget the past few months — which is precisely what I’ve achieved this week.”

In the next match, de Minaur required just 72 minutes to defeat Medvedev, a player he also overcame on clay at Roland-Garros last year.

“I felt like I executed my game plan really well … I was smart and tactically astute throughout,” de Minaur commented.

On Friday night (AEST), Popyrin is set to face Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, while de Minaur will take on Grigor Dimitrov. Both Australians are positioned on separate halves of the draw, preventing a meeting until the finals.

In other matches, second seed Carlos Alcaraz defeated qualifier Daniel Altmaier 6-3, 6-1. The Spaniard impressively saved nine of the ten break points he faced while capitalising on five of his seven opportunities.

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“Honestly, it was tough; Danny played incredibly well,” the world No. 3 said. “The score doesn’t truly reflect the difficulty of the match.”

Alcaraz’s next opponent will be Arthur Fils, who defeated Andrey Rublev 6-2, 6-3. Fils has now reached the quarterfinals in three consecutive Masters events, following strong performances at Indian Wells and Miami last month, boosting his season record to 14-6.

Alejandro Davidovich Fokina overcame Jack Draper 6-3, 6-7 (6), 6-4, with the British left-hander suffering ten double faults and achieving less than 50% accuracy on his first serves.

Three-time Monte Carlo champion Stefanos Tsitsipas comfortably beat unseeded Nuno Borges 6-1, 6-1 and is set to play Italian Lorenzo Musetti next.

– With AP