After the party, comes the hangover but Alexei Popyrin insists there are no headaches after crashing back to earth at Flushing Meadows.
A year after conquering the great Novak Djokovic on Arthur Ashe Stadium, Popyrin has arrived at the US Open with his seeding status brutally stripped after failing to defend his Montreal Masters crown.
From a career-high No.19 in the world two weeks ago, Popyrin has fallen to 36th after being unable to defend the rankings points from his mighty effort in becoming the first Australian since Lleyton Hewitt in 2003 to win an ATP 1000 title.