Qualifier Roman Safiullin stuns Carlos Alcaraz to reach the last 16 of the Paris Masters
Roman Safiullin defeated Carlos Alcaraz 6-3, 6-4. He’ll face fellow Russian Karen Khachanov, the No 16 seed, in the next round
Carlos Alcaraz loses in the opening round of the 2023 Paris Masters Chryslene Caillaud/ Panoramic
Roman Safiullin has earned the biggest win of his career, defeating world No 2 Carlos Alcaraz 6-3, 6-4 at the Accor Arena to reach the last 16 of the Paris Masters.
Safiullin has now won both of his two career matches against top-5 players, having also beaten Stefanos Tsitsipas at Marseille in 2022 when the Greek was ranked fourth in the world.
Today’s win sits some distance above that victory in Marseille, however. Not only is Alcaraz one of the finest players on the planet, but he was also motivated by the prospect of pipping Novak Djokovic to the year-end No 1 ATP ranking.
This loss will be viewed as a big setback for the Spaniard. It is the first time Alcaraz has lost his opening match at a tournament this year. The last time he did so was at the Astana Open in 2022, after winning his maiden Grand Slam title at the US Open the previous month.
Alcaraz struggles, while Safiullin puts on excellent display
Alcaraz looked well below par throughout the contest, as his usually scintillating brand of attacking tennis never quite came to the boil in the French capital.
Yet, he still had his chances. Alcaraz moved an early break up in both sets, only to be pegged back by his opponent. On both occasions, Safiullin was able to reel Alcaraz back in and then overtake as the young Spaniard looked rattled by the standard of tennis that Safiullin was producing.
It was clean, efficient and all-court tennis from the 26-year-old Russian, who frequently came to the net and was able to neutralise much of Alcaraz’s own offence with some excellent passing shots.
Alcaraz was given a stern reminder of the challenges of leading from the top, and just how difficult it will be to have a target on his back for most of his career.
This loss will also surely mean that the race for the year-end No 1 is all but over, unless Djokovic faces a similar early exit in Paris this week.
Safiullin, meanwhile, has showcased just some of the promise that many in Russia have known about for some time.
The Russian came through two rounds of qualifying and a first-round match against Alexandre Muller before today’s superb win over the reigning Wimbledon champion.
“Yes, this one is for sure one to remember. Especially at the end of the season, and he is No 2 in the world and he has two Slams,” Safiullin said after the match.
“It is a great feeling to beat [him]. It proves to me that I can play against these guys and I can win them [these matches].”
Ranked just inside the world’s top 50 at 45th, Safiullin will play compatriot Karen Khachanov, the No 16 seed, for a place in the quarter-finals as the bottom half of the draw in the 2023 Paris Masters blows wide open.
Paris Masters, other second-round results
(Accor Arena, EUR 5.779.335, most recent results first):
- Jannik Sinner vs. Mackenzie McDonald
- Dominic Thiem vs. Holger Rune
- Ugo Humbert vs. Alexander Zverev
- Casper Ruud vs. Francisco Cerundolo
- Dusan Lajovic vs. Alex De Minaur
- Novak Djokovic vs. Tomas Martin Etcheverry
- Stefanos Tsitsipas vs. Felix Auger-Aliassime
- Roberto Bautista Agut vs. Hubert Hurkacz
- Grigor Dimitrov vs. Daniil Medvedev
- Tommy Paul vs. Botic van de Zandschulp
- Taylor Fritz vs. Daniel Altmaier
- Yoshihito Nishioka vs. Andrey Rublev
- Alexander Bublik vs. Nicolas Jarry: tuesday
- Karen Khachanov beat Laslo Djere: 6-4, 7-5
- Tallon Griekspoor beat Alejandro Davidovich Fokina: 6-2, 6-2
