Alexei Popyrin: I love big crowds, it gives me extra fight and motivation
Rising Australian star Alexei Popyrin is looking forward to clashing against home favourite Ugo Humbert in the French Open first round.
Popyrin, 19, was handed a wildcard by Tennis Australia for the French Open.
The 19-year-old knows how it feels to play on the biggest stage, in front of the big crowd and great atmosphere as he experienced that at Melbourne Park this past January. The Australian, who was handed an Australian Open wildcard, he reached the third round before being edged in a five-setter by eventual semi-finalist Lucas Pouille.
Before losing to Pouille, Popyrin beat Mischa Zverev in straight sets and had Dominic Thiem retire him their second-round match while he was 7-5 6-4 2-0 up.
Both Popyrin and Humbert will be making their French Open debuts when they meet.
"I reckon the match will look something like my first round at the Aussie Open, but this time I won't have the crowd on my side," Popyrin said.
"I love the big crowds though, even when they’re against me it just gives me extra fight, extra motivation.
"It will be interesting; two young up-and-coming players and my first time playing best-of-five on clay, so we'll see how my body holds up."
from Tennis World USA http://bit.ly/2EyBS2F
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