Umag [Croatia], July 31 : Alexei Popyrin clinched the Croatia Open title after winning the final against Stan Wawrinka on Sunday in Umag at the ATP 250.
Popyrin defeated the 16-time tour-level champion Wawrinka 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-4 in a Physically struggling in humid conditions.
In the fourth game of the decider, the Australian experienced a cramp in his right leg that made it very difficult for him to move. He had to take risks at every chance to cut rallies short, and his new strategy worked, as he secured a two-hour, 36-minute victory.
"All tournament I’ve been fighting battles that I don’t know how I won. This one tops it all. My quad was done at 2-1. I felt it cramp, I felt it strain. I think it’s pulled, but I managed to dig deep. I don’t know how I won it, honestly. I honestly don’t know,” said Popyrin in his on-court interview as cited by ATP. '
In their first Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting, Wawrinka was under a lot of pressure from the talented Popyrin, but he recovered from a set down to win the opening set in a tie-break. Despite the setback, Popyrin kept up his relentless, powerful hitting to tie the game before being compelled to perform his heroics in the fourth set.
“I even told the physio when he came out," said Popyrin. "He said, ‘If you go any more then it will be tough’. I said, ‘There’s no point in quitting now, I’m here in the final. If I lose, I lose. If I retire, I lose anyway. So I have a better chance of winning if I stay in’, so that’s what I decided to do.”
“It’s an unbelievable honour to play somebody like Stan in a final. I grew up watching him, Roger, Rafa, Novak play. To play him in a final and beat him in a final, words can’t describe how happy I am. It’s an unbelievable feeling,” Popyrin said.
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