Tsitsipas stunned in Marseille by 163rd-ranked Safiullin

Roman Safiullin of Russia (R) greets Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece after winning their quarterfinal tennis match at the ATP Open 13 in Marseille, on February 18, 2022. (Photo by Nicolas TUCAT / AFP)

World number four and top seed Stefanos Tsitsipas suffered an embarrassing straight sets defeat to 163rd-ranked Russian qualifier Roman Safiullin in the Marseille ATP quarterfinals on Friday.

Safiullin, 24, clinched a memorable 6-4, 6-4 win over his Greek opponent who was runner-up at the French Open last year.

“It’s the greatest victory of my career,” said the Russian, a former junior Australian Open champion.

“It was my first time in a quarter-final and the first time I have beaten a top 10 player.”

Safiullin will meet world number nine and last weekend’s Rotterdam champion Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada in the last four.

Auger-Aliassime needed six match points to see off Ilya Ivashka of Belarus 6-3, 6-4.

The other semifinal pits second seed Andrey Rublev of Russia against France’s Benjamin Bonzi.

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