ATP Tour

Safiullin in tears after Fonseca win: 'I didn’t know whether I would be able to come back'

Roman Safiullin was unable to hold back the tears on Friday after producing a dazzling performance to defeat Joao Fonseca 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 and return to the fourth round at Wimbledon.

The former World No. 36 and 2023 Wimbledon quarter-finalist cut short his 2025 season after the US Open due to injury and arrived at this year's grass-court major without a tour-level win in 2026. But after battling through qualifying, Safiullin has reeled off three impressive victories to book his place in the Round of 16 in southwest London.

“After the US Open, I had to stop to treat my injury. That time was super tough. Even half a year ago, I didn’t know whether I would be able to [come] back,” Safiullin said in his on-court interview, visibly emotional. “I’m super happy to be back here.”

Although he didn't notch a tour-level win this year ahead of his run at Wimbledon, Safiullin did win back-to-back ATP Challenger titles in Oeiras and Mauthausen at the back end of April and beginning of May.

Competing as the No. 132 player in the PIF ATP Rankings this week, the 28-year-old saved two match points to defeat Andrey Rublev in his opening match before also taking five sets to overcome Botic van de Zandschulp.

In his impressive two-hour, nine-minute victory over Fonseca, Safiullin saved all five break points he faced. This week, the 28-year-old has climbed 37 spots to No. 95 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings and will next face seven-time champion Novak Djokovic for a place in the quarter-finals.

Safiullin's best result at a major came at Wimbledon in 2023, when he surged to the quarter-finals before falling to Jannik Sinner. He has now improved his record at The Championships to 9-3, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index.