Safiullin’s on-court interview was paused as emotions got the better of him. He had been open about fears of returning to this stage after a tough time with injuries and it was clear how much the latest win meant to him. “After the US Open I had to stop to treat my injury. That time was super tough,” he said. “Even half a year ago I didn’t know if I’d be able to be back. I didn’t know. I’m super happy to be back here.”
Safiullin had come through two tough five-set matches before facing teenage star Fonseca. He shocked No.12 seed Andrey Rublev in the opening round and also went the distance against Botic van de Zantschulp, needing a final set 10-point tie-break in both matches.
He needs just one more win to match his best performance at Wimbledon, a quarter-final run in 2023. His next opponent will be the winner of the Centre Court meeting between former champion Djokovic and French hopeful Arthur Rinderknech.
Safiullin was in the top 40 of the ATP rankings in January 2024 but has since slipped out of the top 100 after a difficult time with injuries. His emotional comments come less than 48 hours after another player who has been through injury hell – 2022 Wimbledon finalist Nick Kyrgios – suggested he might have played his final point at SW19.
“Towards the end, just looking around and taking everything in, it was tough,” Kyrgios said after he and doubles partner Alexander Bublik were beaten in the first round. “I just feel body wise and everything, it’d be hard to see myself coming back here again and competing.”
“What’s the point at that point?. You go from making finals of Grand Slams to struggling to play multiple singles matches, so who knows?”