Roman Safiullin joins list of names to know at Wimbledon
By Lee Vowell
Wimbledon is a unique surface and sometimes new names make deep runs in the tournament. Roman Safiullin is doing that in 2023. Until this year, he had never even played at Wimbledon.
Now, after defeating Denis Shapovalov in the fourth round, Safiullin is into the quarterfinals. In making the quarters his first time at Wimbledon, he joins other players with more well-known names like John McEnroe and Bjorn Borg. And one reason Safiullin is such a dangerous player moving forward is that he seems to remain so calm even in the biggest points.
Safiullin is the 92nd-ranked player currently. He will move up a bit after his performance at Wimbledon and he is only 25 years old. But still, what Safiullin has done so far in the tournament is nothing short of shocking.
Roman Safiullin moves on to the quarterfinals at Wimbledon
He’s never made the finals of an ATP tournament at this point in his career. He has a lifetime win-loss record of 18-22. He only had two Grand Slam match victories until this tournament. Basically, just like American Chris Eubanks, nobody would have expected Safiullin to win a match at Wimbledon 2023, let alone several of them.
It did help some that Shapovalov suffered some kind of injury during the match. Still, he moved around fairly well; Safiullin was just playing better. Plus, Shapovalov had 11 double faults which will get most players beat on any surface at any tournament.
Safiullin finished with 8 aces but won 20 of his 25 second serve points which, if you are new to tennis, is a ridiculously fantastic number. Safiullin also broke Shapovalov five times, which, again, will get most players beat during any specific match.
Next. Ranking the five best players under 25 years old on the ATP tour. dark
Up next for Safiullin is likely Jannik Sinner. Sinner is an excellent young player who if he can build some consistency, especially with his serve, is a dangerous player for anyone. But at this point, Safiullin can’t be counted out of any match as with every victory he gains more confidence and stays calm the entire time.