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Q. Another Masters 1000 win for you. What pleased you most about your performance today? ALEXEI POPYRIN: I was just really solid, focused on what I had to do, served well, and when I had chances in the return games I capitalized on them. I think that's what I've been doing really well the last couple months is kind of focusing on my service games, holding them quite, you know, trying to hold them comfortably, and then trying to put pressure on the returns, and that's what I was doing.
Q. Obviously you had your great win in Montreal, does it feel any different now that you enter the tournament on this level? ALEXEI POPYRIN: Yeah, I think so. It feels different because, you know, I got a bye first round, so I start a little bit later. You know, it's nice to have a number next to your name, it's the first time it's happened to me in a tournament since 2021, so it's been awhile, but it's a nice feeling, well since US Open, and then before that it was 2021, it's a nice feeling to have, and it obviously gives you a little bit of confidence.
Q. How much does that help, having that first-round bye? ALEXEI POPYRIN: Yeah, it helps quite a bit. I think in Asia it's a little bit different, because from Japan to here you have one week in between then, from when I lost to now. It was quite a bit of time to kind of kill. Usually in Europe you would probably go home to your base in Europe and then come a little bit later to the tournament. But it is nice, it's nice to get that one match less. So, it's nice to think of in the future, but we're focused on one match at a time.
Q. Did you come straight here after Japan? ALEXEI POPYRIN: Yeah, well, we stayed a couple days in Japan, because, you know, we really like it, my whole team likes it, my girlfriend likes it, I love it there. We stayed a couple extra days, we pushed it as much as we could, and then came to China and started preparing, so it was like five, six days we were here preparing.
Q. How do you feel like, how do you enjoy the courts around Shanghai? ALEXEI POPYRIN: They're good, they're lively. The balls make it lively also. The last couple days have been windy, so it was tough to get kind of a gauge on how the courts are playing, but today I felt really comfortable out there, and, you know, I think hard courts like this kind of suits me.
Q. What did you make of Alek Vukic's win last night? ALEXEI POPYRIN: Yeah, it was amazing to see. I actually didn't watch the match, I went to bed early, but I woke up to some really good news seeing him win. He's an unbelievable guy and he really deserves a win. He's had a tough year this year, but he's a high-quality player. He had a tough loss in Tokyo, but I saw him the next day back on the practice courts with his coach, and putting the hard yards in, so it was amazing to see him win this morning.
Q. Lastly, either Grigor Dimitrov or Zizou Bergs next. ALEXEI POPYRIN: Yeah, it's going to be fun, we'll see who wins that. If it's Grigor, we had a good battle in Montreal, a solid couple matches there, he helped me win the tournament. And then Zizou, you know, I've known him since juniors, since under-10, so it will be a fun match no matter who I play.
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