Rising star Alexei Popyrin went close to pulling off the upset of the tournament but the Australian teenager was more ‘disappointed’ than surprised after going down to Lucas Pouille, 7-6 (3) 6-3 6-7(10) 4-6 6-3, in an epic third-round clash.
After a week of negative headlines amid an ugly feud between Davis Cup captain Lleyton Hewitt and Bernard Tomic, the 19-year-old restored the faith of Aussie tennis fans with a dramatic fightback.
The world No.149 looked dead to rights when he trailed the 28th seed two-sets-to-love and was down 4-0 in the third-set tiebreaker.
Channel 9 commentator John McEnroe had already left the commentary bunker in preparation for his on-court interview with a victorious Pouille.
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But the Aussie upstart had other ideas.
He climbed back to claim the tiebreak 12-10 and kept the momentum to level at two sets apiece before eventually going down in five sets after almost four hours on Margaret Court Arena.
“Of course I’m disappointed. I didn’t win the match,” Popyrin said.
“But I’m happy with the way the week has gone and happy with the way I played.
“Just unfortunately I couldn’t get it done today or tonight and that’s going to sting a little bit.”
The rising star added about playing in front of a delirious crowd in Melbourne: “I didn’t surprise myself. I think I felt pretty comfortable out there.
“Like I said, I love playing in these big stadiums with massive crowds like it was tonight.
“Yeah, I love it.”
