Qualifier Safiullin Stuns Tsitsipas in Marseille

Roman Safiullin is producing the magic this week in Marseille.

The World No. 163 claimed the best victory of his career on Friday as he upset two-time champion Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4, 6-4 to reach the semi-finals of the Open 13 Provence.

The Russian had come through tough three-setters against Alexei Popyrin and Tomas Machac to reach his first ATP Tour quarter-final, but he showed no signs of fatigue or nerves as he outplayed the top seed from the start.

It was an uncharacteristically sloppy performance from Tsitsipas, but he was regularly forced into errors by the ball-striking and variety of the World No. 163’s game.

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The Russian showed he meant business early, bringing a high level to the opening set as he broke for 3-2 and remained composed to serve it out, converting his first set point with a clean backhand winner.

An extraordinary opening to the second set saw Tsitsipas save five break points in the opening game, as the Russian refused to let his opponent settle on serve. Although the Greek did manage to hold, Safiullin had another five opportunities in the next Tsitsipas service game, and he stayed aggressive to finally complete the break.

Qualifier Safiullin was strong on serve to ensure that early break was enough to seal the set and the match, running out a deserved winner in one hour, 35 minutes. The Russian lost just four points behind his first serve in the match, with Tsitsipas creating just one break opportunity.

Safiullin, who won two singles matches for Team Russia at January’s ATP Cup, will now face either Rotterdam champion Felix Auger-Aliassime or fifth seed Ilya Ivashka in the semi-finals.