Alexei Popyrin is not ready to come down from the heights of his breakout season as he prepares to take on the challenge of some of the world’s best at his home grand slam.

The 25-year-old climbed from 62 to 23 in the world rankings in the space of 12 months after achieving his first ATP Masters victory in Montreal.

Popyrin’s victory at the event marked the first time an Australian had won since Lleyton Hewitt in 2003, but the sensational moment was only the beginning of his rapid rise.

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Popyrin went on to defeat Novak Djokovic 6-4, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 in the third round of the US Open before he was denied an opportunity to contest the title by Frances Tiafo.

Having also competed at the Olympic Games in Paris, the 2024 season will likely be one Popyrin will not forget.

But his success is one he insists is not a key breakthrough in his career.

“I don’t think that was necessarily a turning point,” Popyrin said.

“I think it was just an accumulation of all the hard work we’ve been putting in over the last three years.

“It just all sort of clicked after the Olympics, starting from Montreal. It just kind of clicked and everything just felt great when we were out there on the court, I kind of knew what I was doing.”

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Defeating five top-20 players to lift the trophy at the Canadian Open, Popyrin revealed he learned and adopted some of the traits of the world’s best players.

“I keep saying Montreal was a huge tournament, not only because it was a Masters 1000 and I won it but because if I hadn’t won a match in Montreal and Cincinnati, I would have been ranked 90 in the world,” he said.

“After Montreal, I think the top guys, when they find that sort of click and they find that sort of confidence that they have, they just continue with it for the rest of their career.

“That’s what makes them stay top, and continuing the hard work behind the scenes.

“They just come out on the court with that sort of confidence. That’s something that I have got to try to stick with me.

“Towards the back end of last year, I felt like I sort of did that during a few matches. I have got to do it more consistently this year.

“We kind of knew what I’m capable of because I show it in practice every now and then,” Popyrin continued.

“I have showed it in matches sporadically in the past. I’ve beaten top-10 players, I have had good wins.

“Also I’ve had losses that I shouldn’t have had.

“The mentality that you try and have is to put that away and just focus on the current, on the present.”

Popyrin will take to the courts at Melbourne Park for the first time as a seeded competitor where he will face France’s Corentin Moutet in the first round.

While the seeding adds to his impressive list of achievements in the past 18 months, his mentality remains the same.

“It’s definitely doing the same things and working the same way and just trying to get past that third-round hump – I’ve been in the third round a few times already,” he said.

“We’re just trying to make it to the second week for the first time here.

“That’s the main goal for the year – to make it further in slams, make second weeks of slams.”