He was the last local male in the Australian Open and he was not giving up without a fight.

Trailing two sets to love, Sydney-born teenager Alexei Popyrin put on a fantastic display that suggests his future in tennis is very bright.

And although 28th seed Lucas Pouille eventually beat the Australian 7-6 (7-3) 6-3 6-7 (10-12) 4-6 6-3, the world number 149 won himself more fans with another impressive display.

Coming into the clash against Pouille off the back of a win against seventh seed Dominic Thiem, Popyrin had every reason to feel confident.

And buoyed by a passionate crowd on Margaret Court Arena, Popyrin – the French Open boys champion in 2017 – started well.

A double fault – one of nine he hit throughout the 223-minute encounter – proved costly for Popyrin in a first set tiebreak, though, and Pouille was relatively comfortable in the second.

Lucas Pouille of France missed a match point in the third set. Photo: Getty

But Popyrin clearly still believed, as evidenced by his celebrations in the third set, and a series of classy forehands helped him edge an epic 22-point third set tiebreak.

A break in the first game of the fourth set helped his cause even further and although Pouille broke back, Popyrin repeated the dose en route to claiming the fourth set.

It set up a thrilling finale but Popyrin, playing on a wildcard, did not have enough left in the tank in a 34-minute final set.

“He’s made his name – he should be proud,” Nine Network commentator Todd Woodbridge said of Popyrin’s effort.

Pouille mentioned the partisan crowd in his post-match interview, insisting that although he had “never played against Australia in Davis Cup, now I know how it feels”.

Popyrin’s world ranking is set to soar after his big week at Melbourne Park.

Bolt downed in straight sets by fourth seed

Alex Bolt’s Australian Open campaign also ended on Saturday, the world number 155 soundly beaten inside two hours by fourth seed Alexander Zverev.

Zverev smashed 29 winners in his 6-3 6-3 6-2 win and was never really troubled despite Bolt’s spirited display.

But that did not stop the German having good things to say about Bolt, who he believes can crack the world’s top 50.

“That’s good for me to hear stuff like that from a top guy who thinks I have potential to crack the top 100 and the top 50 – yeah – that gives me a lot of confidence in my game,” Bolt said afterwards.

The 26-year-old, who walked away from tennis in 2016 after falling out of love with the sport, has returned with a vengeance.

And he said it was “unbelievable” to play on Rod Laver Arena in front of the man the court was named after.

Alex Bolt of Australia received a vote of confidence from his fourth seed opponent Zverev.

Barty doubt

Ashleigh Barty needed treatment for a hip/abdominal problem in her third round win over Maria Sakkari on Friday.

And while she refused to disclose what the injury was in her press conference, brushing off questions, she pulled out of the doubles on Saturday.

It means Barty – who was playing doubles with Victoria Azarenka – may not be at full fitness for her much-anticipated battle with Maria Sharapova on Sunday.

Around the courts

Serena Williams made light work of Dayana Yastremska on Saturday, winning 6-2 6-1 in just 67 minutes.

Simona Halep won, too, beating Venus Williams 6-2 6-3, and ending prospects of a fourth-round clash between the two sisters.

The clash between the 23-time grand slam winner and the top-seeded Halep will be a highlight of Monday’s play.

Elsewhere, Novak Djokovic needed four sets to defeat Denis Shapovalov, while last year’s US Open champion, Naomi Osaka, came from behind to beat Hsieh Su-wei in three.