Big-hitting dynamo Alexei Popyrin has the weapons to reach the world top 10, says Australian tennis legend John Newcombe.
World No.24 Popyrin will be seeded for the first time at next month's Australian Open and is knocking on the door of the top 20 after a stunning breakout year.
Popyrin's 2024 was headlined by his Masters 1000 triumph in Montreal and a seismic upset of the great Novak Djokovic to reach the fourth round of the US Open.
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He also beat Daniil Medvedev at the Paris Masters late in the year.
The 25-year-old's progression has Newcombe believing the dangerous Popyrin can aspire to even bigger and better things.
"He's got some real weapons and I love the way he's been playing this year," Newcombe told AAP ahead of Popyrin's first match of the summer at this week's Brisbane International.
"He's another one who's started to come to the net more instead of hanging round the baseline and he's vastly improved his volleys.
"When he's confident, he's hitting his backhand very well, so he just needs to get a bit more confidence in that.
"But if he keeps going the way he's going and keeps improving how he's been improving and gets to really believe in himself, he's a top-10 player."
While Alex de Minaur was clearly the pick of Australia's tennis players in 2024, Popyrin could soon be hot on the heels of his Davis Cup teammate.
The former junior French Open champion has reached the third round at Melbourne Park three times and will be attempting to progress to the second week for the first time.
Popyrin's ceiling is as high as anyone, given his power, aggression and range of shots.
Throw in resilience and his willingness to rev up the local crowd and there's all the ingredients for something special.
"He's got guns," Newcombe said.
"He's got a lot of weapons. So he can hurt players.
"So if he does what I was just talking about, he's definitely top-10 material.
"But there's a lot of work to do yet, but he's not far away."
Popyrin will open his summer campaign open Tuesday or Wednesday against Italian Matteo Arnaldi as the seventh seed in Brisbane.
