Alexei Popyrin reveals his next major goal in tennis

Teen sensation Alexei Popyrin dreams of a Davis Cup call-up after announcing his arrival to Australian tennis fans with a spectacular Melbourne Park debut.

Popyrin was shattered to have fallen painfully short of a last-16 showing with an epic five-set third-round loss to seeded Frenchman Lucas Pouille on Saturday night.

But in fighting back from two sets down and 0-4 in the third-set tiebreaker to force Pouille to go the full distance, Popyrin placed polarising pair Nick Kyrgios and Bernard Tomic a changing of the guard in Australians men’s tennis may be afoot.

With Tomic blacklisted by Australian captain Lleyton Hewitt and Kyrgios under an injury cloud and seemingly indifferent about a return to the Cup fold, Alex de Minaur and John Millman are certain to lead Australia in next month’s qualifying tie against Bosnia and Herzevogina in Adelaide.

But having served as an orange boy in the past, Popyrin looms as a selection bolter for the February 1-2 tie at Memorial Drive.

With the drama surrounding Tomic and Kyrgios, who both made first-round exits at the year’s opening grand slam, young guns De Minaur and Popyrin put fans on notice that a changing of the guard may be afoot.

“Davis Cup, it’s always been my dream to play for Australia,” said the Sydney-born, Nice-based Popyrin.

“If I get the call up then, I definitely take it. No questions asked. It’s been a dream of mine since I was kid.

“If I get the call, yeah, I’ll 100 per cent play.”

Popyrin was the last local male to exit the Open singles after fellow wildcard Alex Bolt’s third-round loss earlier on Saturday night to fourth seed Alexander Zverev.

But he went out with a bang.

Popyrin eventually succumbed 7-6 (7-3) 6-3 6-7 (12-10) 4-6 6-3 with the match lasting almost four hours and finishing after midnight.

It was his first time playing five sets in a tournament but he showed he’s more than ready for the big time.

“Unfortunately I couldn’t get it done and that’s going to sting a little bit,” Popyrin said.

“I didn’t win the match but I’m happy with the way the week has gone and happy with the way I played.

“I didn’t surprise myself, I felt pretty comfortable out there.”

The 2017 French Open junior champion is projected to soar to a career-high No.123 in the world next week.

Popyrin’s immediate goal is to continue his rankings rise to ensure he won’t require another wildcard for the season’s second major in Paris in May.

“Hopefully I can break the top 100 sometime soon,” he said.