[Apollo]

  And he does it 6-4 a man with true grit! !!!!!

[Apollo]

For those who jump in when Andy is struggling to put him down, I say are there any other players out there with metal in their hips!!!  Are any of todays players winners of back to back Olympic gold medals?  Have any of these players won two Wimbledons?  Andy is 35, yes he has slowed down but his brain is still intact, he is one of the smartest players out there, and win or lose he never gives up. So you trolls need to give him a break or go root for someone else. You will never find a player who is the legend that Andy is. Love you Andy.

[Tonedial]

Who does he play next? Bautista?

It's a close one, but i think Bautista will get through against Djere

[marathonarthur]

^ I missed it too as I was attending a funeral but I did rush through the replay. It was much as I expected that Andy would struggle then use his experience to get the win.

Not brilliant tennis but a workmanlike effort.

On Thursday he needs some magic play. He could be inspired by another meeting with B-A. Might not be enough so am looking at where he plays next. Is he in Paris? I thought that he was but recently I seem to get more things wrong than right!

[marathonarthur]

Thanks Aileen

[marathonarthur]

^ We do not know how much input from Andy is influencing his match schedule. He appears to be working hard to be both a tennis player and a father of four and perhaps that is a major influence. To me, it is as if he and tournament directors accept that he is unlikely to make R3  but very much want him as an attraction at their events so have been trying to maximise his energy and strength for the benefit of the public that come to watch. Just a thought but perhaps I should stop saying that?  You guys probably have put similar ideas to the test. Ghostbuster it is clear that you feel the same that everyone accepts that he is there for a couple of games where his skills are on show.

[flowerpower]

The two have met once before, in the Rennes Challenger in September 2021, with Safiullin winning 6-2, 4-6, 6-1.

The 25 year old Russian, who won the boys' singles at the Australian Open in 2015, is currently ranked No. 93 (career high No. 92), having started the year as No. 167.  He distinguished himself by playing for Russia in the ATP Cup in Sydney alongside Daniil Medvedev, having been drafted in at the last minute after Andrey Rublev and Aslan Karatsev succumbed to covid.  Against all expectations the depleted Russian team reached the semi-finals with Safiullin winning his two singles matches, the first against France's Arthur Rinderknech and the next against Australia's James Duckworth, an achievement which saw his ranking rise 21 places  to No. 146.

His most notable performance on the Tour so far this season has been reaching two ATP 250 semifinals.  The first of these came at the Open 13 in Marseille, where he beat Alexei Popyrin, Tomas Machac and Stefanos Tsitsipas before losing 6-7(4-7), 6-7(5-7) to Felix Auger-Aliassime.   His second came at the Tel Aviv Open at the beginning of this month when he defeated Hugo Grenier, Tomas Martin Etcheverry and Arthur Rinderknech before his run was ended by eventual champion Novak Djokovic to whom he lost 1-6, 6-7(3-7).  He then moved on to the Florence Open but failed to qualify.  In the qualifiers here he defeated first Jan-Lennard Struff 7-5, 6-1, then Jaume Munar 6-4, 6-3.



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Nice information! helped a lot to understand the match...