Brisbane International 2024: Holger Rune vs Roman Safiullin preview, head-to-head, prediction, odds and pick
Match Details
Fixture: (1) Holger Rune vs Roman Safiullin
Date: January 6, 2024
Tournament: Brisbane International 2024
Round: Semifinal
Venue: Queensland Tennis Centre, Brisbane, Australia
Category: ATP 250
Surface: Outdoor hard
Prize money: $661,585
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | Canada - TSN | UK - Sky Sports
Holger Rune vs Roman Safiullin preview
World No. 8 Holger Rune will square off against Roman Safiullin in the semifinals of the 2024 Brisbane International on Saturday.
Rune needed three sets to get past Max Purcell and Alexander Shevchenko to reach the quarterfinals, where James Duckworth awaited him. The young Dane cruised through the first set as he swept five games in a row from 2-1 in the first set to take it.
Duckworth presented more of a challenge in the second set and matched Rune stroke for stroke. The set eventually went into a tie-break, with the latter coming out on top to score a 6-2, 7-6 (6) victory.
Safiullin knocked out third seed Ben Shelton in the first round here and followed it up with a win over Alexei Popyrin, in which he saved five match points. The Russian then faced Matteo Arnaldi in the quarterfinals.
Safiullin was the only player who got a whiff of a break point in the first set, but wasted all four of them. With the duo refusing to cede any ground on serve, the set went into a tie-break, in which the Russian gained the upper hand to take a one set lead.
Safiullin carried the momentum into the next set as he quickly raced to a 5-0 lead. Arnaldi offered some resistance and even saved a match point as he bagged a couple of games, but it wasn't enough. The Russian broke his opponent's serve one last time to win the match 7-6 (4), 6-2.
Holger Rune vs Roman Safiullin head-to-head
The two haven't faced off prior to this, so the head-to-head stands at 0-0 for now.
Holger Rune vs Roman Safiullin odds
(Odds are sourced from BetMGM)
Holger Rune vs Roman Safiullin prediction
After back-to-back three-set tussles, both finally enjoyed a straight sets outing in the previous round. Rune played a pretty clean match as he blasted 33 winners in all and committed just 11 unforced errors. He also won 86% of his first serve points and went 13/19 with regards to his net approaches.
Safiullin played a solid match to oust Arnaldi as well. While his stats didn't match up to Rune's, they were pretty respectable. The Russian has emerged as one of the giant-killers in recent times, having scored wins over Alexander Zverev and Carlos Alcaraz in the past season.
Rune will be vary of the threat Safiullin brings. Both are excellent shotmakers who look to take the lead from the baseline. This could prove to be a tricky encounter for the young Dane, but this is exactly the kind of match that'll prove why he has established himself as one of the top players.
Pick: Holger Rune to win in three sets.