Roman Safiullin breaks down in tears and forced to cut short Wimbledon interview

Roman Safiullin was overcome with emotion during his on-court interview after beating Joao Fonseca at Wimbledon.

The 28-year-old defeated the highly-rated Brazilian in a comfortable straight sets 6-3, 6-3, 6-3.

It means Safiullin will rise back into the top 100 in the world following the third round victory.

Speaking on court at Wimbledon, he said: “After the US Open, I had to stop to treat my injury. That time was super tough. Even half a year ago, I did not know if I would come back.”

He then broke down into tears and had to walk away to compose himself.

The cameras cut to his wife in the audience, who was also crying.

He returned to say: “Yeah, I didn’t know. I’m super happy to be back here.”

Safiullin’s voice cracked and the interviewer decided to cut short their time.

He will likely face Novak Djokovic in the fourth round at Wimbledon, if the 24-time Grand Slam winner defeats Arthur Rinderknech.

Safiullin’s route to round four

The world number 132 had to come through three gruelling rounds of qualifying to book his place in the main draw at the All England Club.

This included a five-set thriller in the final round to set up a date with the number 12 seed, Andrey Rublev.

The Rublev match was another thriller, winning 14-12 in a final-set tiebreak.

AFP

Safiullin then faced another final-set tiebreak epic against Botic van de Zandschlup.

He overcame the Dutchman 10-5 in the match breaker.

The victory over Fonseca was a major shock, but has been his most routine win so far.

In the question before he broke down in his interview, Safiullin said: “From the qualies final round until now, it has been super tough matches. 

“I’m very happy to manage to win today finally in three sets, not going to five sets. I’m very happy for my game here.”

Safiullin’s best performance at Wimbledon came in 2023 when he reached the quarter-final.

He would match that if he wins his next match.

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