Carlos Acaraz’s Rolex Paris Masters campaign is over after just a single match, as the second-ranked Spaniard succumbed to Roman Safiullin 6-3, 6-4 on Tuesday evening. Safiullin broke Alcaraz four times in nine return games to pull off the upset in one hour and 37 minutes.
Alcaraz has not reached a final since losing to Novak Djokovic at the Cincinnati Masters and he withdrew from Basel last week due to foot and back issues. Combine that with Safiullin’s outstanding form throughout the 2023 season and this result is not as much of a shock in reality as it is on paper.
Safiullin, who had to qualify just to get into the main draw, will face fellow Russian Karen Khachanov in round three.
“Since qualies, I was not playing at this level,” the world No. 45 commented. “But against Carlos and these top- 10 (or) top-20 guys, you have to lift up the level. I managed to do it. For Carlos, it was not his best performance, but still I’m happy that I can win…. Even if he’s not in the best shape, it’s tough to beat him. So I’m really happy that I made it.”
Meanwhile, Hubert Hurkacz kept his Nitto ATP Finals hopes alive with a 6-3, 6-7(6), 6-3 victory over Sebastian Korda. Hurkacz, the recent Basel runner-up, failed to serve out the match in the second set and missed a match point in the ensuing tiebreaker before recovering in the third.
The 11th-ranked Pole must reach at least the semifinals to have a chance of qualifying for Turin.
nice one, Roman