Asked to take on the troublesome 'second singles' role by captain Lleyton Hewitt, Popyrin, only a late replacement in the squad, rose to the challenge, defeating the dangerous, big-hitting Virtanen 7-6 (7-5) 6-2 in Friday's opener.
Playing with what he admitted were "nerves I've never experienced before", Popyrin managed to deliver a rock solid game, making only 11 unforced errors to his erratic opponent's 25, to prevail in just under an hour-and-a-half.
What a rally and what a finish from Popyrin 🤯#DavisCupFinals | @TennisAustralia pic.twitter.com/wmNj3SXQwC— Davis Cup (@DavisCup) November 24, 2023
"It was probably the biggest win of my career," admitted Popyrin. "To come out and play for your country, and win a match that means so much to us, it's an honour and something I'll never forget.Â
"Nothing compares to this.Â
"I thought I was ready but when I came out and heard the two sets of fans chanting so hard, but it was nerves that I've never experienced before.
"So for me to come out and steady my head, focus on my serve and capitalise on the chances I had, it was really good."
His effort helped silence a noisy contingent of Finnish fans, who were hoping to cheer their underdog outfit to their first-ever final in the world men's team competition.Â
Instead, Australia were left on the verge of a second successive final as they seek to bring home the famous old vast trophy for the first time since Hewitt played for the 2003 champions.
Aussie No.1 Alex de Minaur will be charged with delivering the victory in the second singles against Finland's only top-100 ranked player Emil Ruusuvuori, who was passed fit to play after missing their sensational quarter-final win over champions Canada on Tuesday.
The second singles role has constantly proved a headache for Hewitt to fill after defeats in that slot this year for Thanasi Kokkinakis, Max Purcell and, in Wednesday's quarter-final against the Czech Republic, Jordan Thompson.
Popyrin was thrilled to win his first David Cup rubber for two years against Finland.
So Popyrin, who was only drafted late into the squad after Kokkinakis picked up an injury, was given his chance to make the place his own in his first tie for two years, and he did so by repelling a fierce challenge from Virtanen, a 22-year-old prospect who's destined to rise a lot higher than his current ranking of 171.
The Australian found himself on the backfoot during much of a serve-dominated first set and even had to survive a set point at 5-6 before subduing Virtanen, the biggest server in the tournament, who finally succumbed with a decisive forehand error in the tiebreak.
It seemed to drain the quarter-final hero of some of his early confidence as Popyrin, the second-ranked Aussie man at world no.40, broke the Finn twice in the second set to reel off the last four games.
