Roman Safiullin and Shintaro Mochizuki have made a name for themselves at Wimbledon, advancing to the second week of the Championships. Safiullin, a former world number 36, earned his place in the last 16 after a 6-3 6-3 6-3 win over Brazilian 19-year-old Joao Fonseca on Court Two.
Safiullin’s Journey
Safiullin has been grinding away on the Challenger circuit after cutting short his 2025 season due to a career-threatening hip injury following the U.S. Open. He has now reaped the rewards, saying, “From the final round of qualifying until now, I’ve faced super tough matches. I’ve been saving match points and spending four hours on court each match, battling through in five sets.”
Safiullin and his wife were overcome with emotion as the crowd rose to applaud the Russian. “I’m super happy to be back here,” he added, stepping away from the microphone and cutting his on-court interview short.
Mochizuki’s Upset
On Court 18, Mochizuki scripted a remarkable story of his own as the Japanese qualifier ended the run of Spanish 19-year-old Rafael Jodar 1-6 7-6(5) 6-4 6-4 to set up a meeting with world number one and defending champion Jannik Sinner.
Mochizuki said, “I don’t know about him much in person. I think he’s just a celebrity for me. That’s why it feels strange to play him. But I’m sure he’s going to play very quick and he’s going to try to destroy me, I think. I just want to do whatever I can to, let’s say, distract him because just by hitting tennis balls, I don’t think I can beat him at all.”
Original reporting: Appleton, WI News Feed (HLL/CB) — read the source article.
