Zverev Faces Safiullin; Rune and Ruud Make Shanghai Debuts | Shanghai 2023 Highlights Day 3

👋👍 Well done Roma! Спасибо, Роман! Доставили огромное удовольствие своей игрой!!!

Zverev didn’t play great, but Safiullin…
If he continues to play like this he could go far. The only problem is that he has a crazy difficult draw (Shelton, Sinner, Medvedev…)

I wrote about Safiulin at ½finals Tennis TV video in Changdu, but I would repeat it one more time. He was considered second best after Rublev, they were cheered by every major media TV sport channels, YouTube channels and big stars of Russian tennis: Safin, Kafelnikov, Davidenko, Andrey Chesnokov & also Olhovskii-great doubles player. All those tennis related players put Rublev & Safiulin on one lvl, to future top-10 players, with Meddy & Karen not far behind! Those 4 were called as “golden” youth of Russian tennis! ….But how fate hit him right after he won Juniors AO 2015, became nr 2 in the world and decided to go Pro full time, was painful! Right at the next tournament after his big juniors win, he withdrew from a tournament with shoulder trauma! Missed almost completely 2015 year. And then it was a roller coaster. Cause it was the shoulder of his hitting arm, so he started to recover very slowly, and then when shoulder was at 90% ready, he started to have minor injuries almost every year, that made him miss a few month in 2016 & 17+ one month in 2018.(If I’m not wrong and remember it the right way, cause I read it only in some news on the internet Russian sport media, so maybe how many months he missed from 2016 till 2019, I don’t remember right way 🤷‍♂️). Anyway, those traumas made his mental stamina very shaky! And following him for many years i can say that his true comeback started by the end of 2019 & especially early 2020……but then pandemic stroke, and he had to sit without playing & again his form got lower. So after all this pandemic he was fully back on courts in 2021 and slowly started gaining points at ITF circuit. Same for 2022. And finally after he changed coach for this year, he started gaining results, and his self-confidence just boosted! I’m so glad for him to play like he use to play being junior! He has that winning fire in his eyes again! Of course it’s a metaphor, but still, his whole body, his shots, show that Roman is back!! I’m happy to see him with totally changed mental approach to his game! So hope his first Atp tour title will come soon! Давай Рома!!!

So happy for Safiullin, as a junior he was a big promise but struggled a lot in his atp debut, he s super talented, finally he’s found himself in the major circuit. He reminds me a bit of Gulbis

Safiullin is playing so solid. Is a challenge for everybody if he keep playing like this !!

De Minaur and Zverev looked genuinely unarsed after their first sets

Beating Murray and now beating this inform zverev
Safiullin playing some incredible tennis

Want to see Safiullin do well in this tournament, maybe even win it as a dark horse…love watching him, the goat Mannarino and Marozsan play

I really hope Rune is taking a break.. He needs it.

I’ve heard of a statement from Rune’s mother that he has an injury with his back but I’m not sure, it definitely feels like he’s holding back being conscious of something other than winning the point. If that’s the case I wish he could afford taking a long break to settle things for good then come back.

В каком же сейчас порядке Сафиулин. Не ожидал такой игры с сильным соперником.