Aleksej Popirin emerges as Đoković’s formidable rival

Aleksej Popirin, the 43rd ranked Australian tennis player, will be Novak Djokovic’s opponent in the upcoming match. Popirin had a relatively easy win against fellow countryman Polmans (3-0) in the first round of the tournament. It is expected that a majority of the stadium will be against Djokovic, although this is not a situation he has never faced before.

Popirin, a tall player at 24 years old, has only played Djokovic once before, during the Tokyo 2019 tournament. Djokovic easily defeated him with a score of 6-4, 6-2. If Djokovic wins this match, it is still uncertain who he will face next as there are three other matches that need to be completed. The potential opponents are Hanfman, Monfils, Murray, and Echeveri, all of whom are strong competitors. Particularly, if Andy Murray is the opponent, it will be a challenging match for Djokovic.