Popyrin and Shelton will take on each other in the third round of the 2023 Australian Open on January 21.
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After defeating former Junior No. 1 Chun Hsin Tseng in five sets in the opening round, Alexei Popyrin defeated world No. 9 Taylor Fritz in five sets in the following round. “This is so important to me. I’m going to continue because I enjoy this sensation. You guys should experience this, please. After completing one of his career’s best victories, a delighted Australian exclaimed, “This is the dream for me, and I don’t want to wake up.” After a forgettable 2022 season, the former Boys’ French Open champion is off to a dream start in 2023. Last year, he only won five main-draw matches in tournaments on the tour, but he has four wins under his belt already in the last three weeks.
Ben Shelton, who had never played a match outside of the United States before three weeks ago, needs one more match to advance to the Australian Open’s second round. In the first round, he defeated Zhizhen Zhang in a close five-set match, and in the second round, he defeated Nicolas Jarry in three tight sets. The 20-year-old American, who was outside the top 500 at this time last year, only secured his spot in the Australian Open main draw last November by winning three consecutive Challenger titles in the US, which also earned him the main-draw wildcard (which he did not need) and his top-100 debut. Sneaking into the second week in Melbourne this fortnight would be an incredible accomplishment for the young player.
| Popyrin vs Shelton | Match details |
|---|---|
| Date | January 21, 2023 |
| Surface | Hard courts |
| Tournament | Australian Open |
| Stage | Third Round |
| Time (India) | 1:30 pm (tentative) |
| Time (Australia) | 7 pm (tentative) |
| Opponent | Score |
|---|---|
| Taylor Fritz | 7-6, 6-7, 4-6, 7-6, 2-6 (W) |
| Tseng Chun-hsin | 6-4, 6-7, 7-6, 6-7, 1-6 (W) |
| Thanasi Kokkinakis | 6-0, 6-7, 7-5 (L) |
| Yoshihito Nishioka | 7-6, 6-7, 6-2 (L) |
| Marcos Giron | 6-4, 4-6, 3-6 (W) |
| Opponent | Score |
|---|---|
| Nicolas Jarry | 7-6, 7-6, 7-5 (W) |
| Zhang Zhizhen | 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 2-6, 7-6 (W) |
| Quentin Halys | 6-3, 6-2 (L) |
| Sebastian Baez | 7-6, 6-1 (W) |
| James Duckworth | 6-3, 7-6 (L) |
The current head to head is 0-0. In their first encounter, Alexei Popyrin has the advantage due to his prior experience competing at this stage of grand slams and under Australian weather.
Popyrin and Shelton will take on each other in the third round of the 2023 Australian Open on January 21.
Australia – Nine and Stan Sport
Canada – TSN and RDS
India – Sony Sports Network
UK – Eurosport
USA – ESPN Network
The matches of both men’s and women’s can be live-streamed on demand on the Tennis TV app and website.
