By Shrivathsa Sridhar
LONDON, July 3 (Reuters) - Even as Novak Djokovic and Jannik Sinner continued to command the Wimbledon spotlight, an unlikely challenge emerged from the qualifying ranks when Roman Safiullin and Shintaro Mochizuki surged into the second week of the Championships.
Safiullin earned his place in the last 16 and a clash with Djokovic after a 6-3 6-3 6-3 win over Brazilian 19-year-old Joao Fonseca on Court Two, with the Russian turning emotional after only his third tour-level main
draw win this year after three rounds of qualifying.
The former world number 36, who has slipped to 132 after cutting short his 2025 season due to a career-threatening hip injury following the U.S. Open, has been grinding away on the Challenger circuit and is now reaping the rewards.
"From the final round of qualifying until now, I've faced super tough matches. I've been saving match points and spending four hours on court each match, battling through in five sets," said the 2023 Wimbledon quarter-finalist, holding back tears.
"It was super tough, but I'm very happy to perform at this level and finally win in three sets today.
"After the U.S. Open, I had to stop playing to treat my injury. That time was super tough, because half a year ago I didn't know if I would be able to come back."
Safiullin and his wife, watching from the stands, both broke down in tears as the crowd rose to applaud the Russian.
"I'm super happy to be back here," he added, stepping away from the microphone and cutting his on-court interview short.
MOCHIZUKI WILL TRY TO MAKE SINNER UNCOMFORTABLE
On Court 18, Mochizuki scripted a remarkable story of his own as the Japanese qualifier ended the run of Spanish 19-year-old Rafael Jodar 1-6 7-6(5) 6-4 6-4 to set up a meeting with world number one and defending champion Sinner.
"I don't know about him much in person. I think he's just a celebrity for me. That's why it feels strange to play him," the 23-year-old Mochizuki said.
"But I'm sure he's going play very quick and he's going to try to destroy me, I think. I just want to do whatever I can to, let's say, distract him because just by hitting tennis balls, I don't think I can beat him at all.
"I want to do something else to make him uncomfortable ... like hitting balls low, coming into the net. I don't think he's used to play against these kind of players. Yeah, I think it's going to be interesting or he just destroys me."
With compatriot Naomi Osaka watching from the stands, the world number 151 recovered from a sluggish start and sank to his knees in celebration after a volleyed winner on match point.
Victory meant 2019 junior champion Mochizuki became only the fourth Japanese man to make the fourth round of a Grand Slam in the professional era that began in 1968, alongside Kei Nishikori, Yoshihito Nishioka and Shuzo Matsuoka.
(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in London; Editing by Alison Williams)
