Roman Safiullin retains 2 Championship points, wins Carrie Challenger | ATP Tour

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Saphiullin retains 2 Championship points, wins Carry Challenger

Dzumhur wins fourth Challenger title of the season

August 19, 2024

No. 1 seed Roman Safilin made a dramatic comeback at the Cary Tennis Classic on Saturday, claiming two championship points and a fifth ATP Challenger Tour title.

The 27-year-old defeated Mattia Bellucci 1-6, 7-5, 7-5 in the final, with the Italian qualifier leading 6-1, 4-1. Safiullin was down 4-5 in the second set and had two championship points on serve, but found a way to turn the match around and lift the trophy in two hours and 53 minutes. Safiullin, who looked physically exhausted in the second half, breathed a sigh of relief when he earned his eighth championship point.

“I just decided to put the ball back [in play]”I was trying to let him win and he made a few mistakes and I hit a few good balls. At the end of the game I was able to turn it around,” Safiullin told commentator Rob Werner.

“It was really humid today. The conditions were really tough, but I’m glad I did well. It was a good test for me before New York, which will be similar.”

After winning the title, Safiullin climbed seven places to No. 57 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings. He is playing in his fifth Challenger event since September 2022.

Safiullin, who is now 5-0 in Challenger finals, is the sixth player in the top 70 to win a title at that level this year. Safiullin became the first player to win a Challenger title and reach the Wimbledon quarterfinals in the same season since Nick Kyrgios in 2014.

In other Challenger events, Damir Dzumhur became the first player this season to win four trophies at that level when he won the RD Open 2024 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. The 32-year-old defeated lucky loser Andres Andrade of Ecuador 6-4, 6-4 in the final.

Damir Zumhur in action at Santo Domingo Challenger.”>
^{Damir Dzumhur in action at the Santo Domingo Challenger. Credit: Gabriela Ascuasiati}

Zoomher won the inaugural Challenger in Santo Domingo in 2015, and nine years later the Bosnian returned to the winner’s world to win his 12th Challenger.

Heading into the tournament, the world No. 23 returned to the top 100 for the first time in four and a half years. Dzumhur is set to move up to No. 81 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings, his highest ranking since June 2019.

Switzerland’s Marc-Andrea Fisler dropped just one set all week at the Polish Kozerki Open, beating No. 1 seed Witt Kopriva 6-1, 6-4 in the final. The 29-year-old won his sixth Challenger title and first since April 2022.

“I served well this week, played a lot of good tennis, and was able to save a lot of break points, which helped me,” said Huesler, who missed one serve all week, according to Infosys ATP Stats, and saved nine of 10 break points. “In the final, my first serve came right when I was a little bit tight, and that really helped me get through the week. It also allowed me to be more aggressive on my returns and take some risks.

“I didn’t have high expectations this week because I didn’t really prepare hard on the court. When I had low expectations, I saw the winner coming on the weekend.”

Marc-Andrea Whistler poses with Groznysk Mazowiecki Bolkid after the trophy ceremony.”>
^{Marc-Andrea Fisler poses with Grozsk Mazowiecki Bolkid after the trophy ceremony. Source: Kozerki Open}

Carlos Taberner went one step further than his runner-up finish at Cordenons the previous week by winning the Internazionali di Tennis Citta di Todi Sidernestor Tennis Cup. The Spaniard’s consistency saw him beat Argentina’s Santiago Rodriguez Taverna 6-4, 6-3 in the final to claim his seventh ATP Challenger Tour title.

“I’m very happy to have won this title. In terms of points, the final was the only one of my last three matches where I won by two sets, but it wasn’t easy,” Taverner said. “It was really, really hard. I’m very happy because I played at the same level the whole time.”

Congratulations to Carlos Taverner for winning the Challenger 75 in Todi, Italy.”>
^{Carlos Taberner celebrates his victory at the Challenger 75 in Todi, Italy. Credit: Yuri Serafini}