Alexei Popyrin’s hopes for a strong start to a huge Aussie summer have been dashed with a frustrating straight sets loss in the opening round of the Brisbane International.

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Popyrin, 25, will be seeded at the Australian Open for the first time after a career-best 2024 campaign which included a brilliant Masters 1000 win in Canada, and an upset of Novak Djokovic at the US Open.

But the powerful world No.24 fell 6-3 6-2 to Italy’s Matteo Arnaldi on Tuesday in Brisbane.

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It’s not a major upset, with Arnaldi ranked No.38 in the world (and an adopted Aussie thanks to his Melbourne native partner Mia Savio) but still means Popyrin won’t have much competitive court time leading into the season’s first grand slam.

It comes after Aussie tennis legend John Newcombe declared Popyrin has the potential to be a top-10 player.

“He’s got some real weapons and I love the way he’s been playing this year,” Newcombe told AAP.

“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.”

Nick Kyrgios will make his return to competitive singles action later on Tuesday with his first-round match at the Brisbane International.

Having won his return to the court in doubles action with Novak Djokovic on Monday night, Kyrgios faces massive-serving young gun Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in a dangerous contest.

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