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Alexander Zverev sent a very classy message to Roman Safiullin after preventing the Russian from winning his first ATP title at the Chengdu Open. Zverev, seeded at No 1, recovered from a set down to beat 41st-ranked Safiullin 6-7 (2) 7-6 (5) 6-3 in the Chengdu final.
Safiullin, 26, was playing in his first ATP final and he was close to beating Zverev in straight sets - but ultimately fell short in his bid. “Congratulations Roman. Incredible week & incredible tennis. We played each other a lot of times in juniors, from under 14s & under 18s.
It’s great to see how we grew up together & how far we’ve come. If you keep playing like this, you can be top 20. You’re one of the most dangerous players I’ve ever played. I’ve been playing great tennis this week & all of a sudden, I came out today & had absolutely no idea for what to do for a set & a half… I wish you & your team nothing but the best," Zverev told Safiullin after the Chengdu final.
Zverev after beating Safiullin to win 21st ATP title:
“Congratulations Roman. Incredible week & incredible tennis. We played each other a lot of times in juniors, from under 14s & under 18s. It’s great to see how we grew up together & how far we’ve come.If you keep playing like… pic.twitter.com/bQpua52J1L — The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) September 26, 2023
Zverev came back to beat Safiullin
In the first set, Zverev had a 5-4 lead and three consecutive set points on Safiullin's service but didn't convert any of his three chances.
The first set ultimately went into a tie-break, where Safiullin opened an early 3-0 lead before realizing his first set point to clinch the opener. After winning the first set, Safiullin also started the second set with an early break and a 2-0 lead.
Down by a set and a break, Zverev refused to quit and he got the break back in the third game. As no more breaks were seen in the remainder of the set, the second set also had to be resolved in a tie-break. In the second-set tie-break, the two players were tied to five points apiece before Zverev won the next two points to win the set and force a decider.
In the third set, Zverev earned the first break in the fourth game and then held on to his service for the remainder of the match to complete a comeback win.