Roman Safiullin beat Flavio Cobolli in the round of 32 at the China Open in Beijing 6-3 6-2 and advanced to the round of 16. The ATP 500 event is being played on hard courts, with prize money of $4.1 million. Match data is provided by api.tennis.
There was a clear difference between the two players in the rankings. According to rank.tennis, Safiullin is 84th in the rankings with 694 points and is playing in Beijing without a seed. Cobolli is the fourth seed, ranked seventh in the world and has 3680 points.
The head-to-head is now level
This was the players' second meeting. In 2022 at the US Open, Cobolli won 6-4 6-4. Safiullin has now avenged that loss, and their head-to-head record stands at 1-1.
Safiullin arrived in Beijing after reaching the semifinal in Hangzhou. There he beat Quentin Halys (5-7 6-3 6-4) and Bu Yunchaokete (6-3 6-3), before losing to Daniil Medvedev 5-7 4-6. Cobolli came into Beijing after defeats at the US Open to Alexander Blockx (7-6 3-6 0-6 3-6) and at the Laver Cup to Learner Tien (3-6 6-2 7-10). At the same Laver Cup, he won the doubles match against Alex de Minaur and Taylor Fritz 7-5 6-3.