The air was blown off the Centre Court of the Palais des Sports in Marseille with the surprise defeat of Stefanos Tsitsipas, the world number 4 and two-time winner in Marseille in 2019 and 2020, who was beaten by the Russian Roman Safiullin, ranked 163rd in the world and a qualifier. Tsitsipas, who had performed particularly well for Russia at the ATP Cup earlier this year, was very emotional when interviewed on court and admitted that this was the best win of his career.
Of course, beating the number one seed in the quarter-finals, and in two sets (6-4 6-4 in 1 hour and 35 minutes), was not really on the agenda for the man who, six years ago, was one of the great hopes of Russian tennis. But unlike his colleagues (Medvedev, Khachanov, Rublev), the 24-year-old Safiullin has not managed to break through.
His turn comes too, thanks to perseverance and the kindness of his friends on the circuit who encourage and support him.
In the semifinals, his first on the main tour, Safiullin will face the winner of the match between Felix Auger-Aliassime and Ilya Ivashka.
