Wimbledon shock for Rublev: out in round one

One of the biggest surprises of the Wimbledon first round has arrived. Twelfth seed Andrey Rublev was knocked out after a long, gruelling battle against an opponent he knows well on grass, Roman Safiullin, ranked 132nd in the world. Safiullin won the four-hour match 6-4, 6-7, 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 to advance to the second round of the main draw.

The flow of the match swung throughout. Safiullin went ahead by taking the first set 6-4, before Rublev levelled by snatching the second in a tie-break. Winning the third clearly 6-3 to take command, the Russian then lost the fourth 6-3, sending the contest to a decisive fifth set. That set also went to a tie-break, where Safiullin settled matters by edging an extended breaker 14 points apiece.

The result was a heavy blow for Rublev, who has shown patchy form on grass of late; the Russian also struggled in the build-up and found consistency hard to come by. Though he looked superior on serve at times, Rublev gave way in the key tie-breaks and was left to rue another early Grand Slam exit. Safiullin, standing out with his composure in tie-breaks, made another strong start at a tournament where he reached the quarter-finals back in 2023. With the balance he found in total points and key points won, he was a deserving winner and booked his place in the second round.

By the numbers (Rublev-Safiullin): Score 4-6, 7-6(6), 6-3, 3-6, 6-7(14) · Winners 54-56 · Unforced errors 34-38 · Break points won 2/6 - 3/13 · 1st serve points won 74%-83% · 2nd serve points won 53%-60% · Time 4:00

Image: Tennis Majors