Marseille 2022: Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Roman Safiullin preview, head-to-head and prediction | Open 13 Provence
Match Details
Fixture: (1) Stefanos Tsitsipas vs (Q) Roman Safiullin
Date: 18 February 2022
Tournament: Open 13 Provence
Round: Quarterfinals
Venue: Marseille, France
Category: ATP 250
Surface: Indoor Hardcourt
Prize money: €545,200
Match timing: Not before 7 pm local time, 6 pm GMT, 11.30 pm IST
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | Canada - TSN | India - Tennis TV
Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Roman Safiullin preview
Top seed Stefanos Tsitsipas will continue his bid for a third title in Marseille when he faces Russian qualifier Roman Safiullin in the quarterfinals on Friday.
The Greek struggled at the start of the season with an elbow injury, but has looked healthier with every tournament he's played.
He reached the semifinals of the Australian Open, where he was beaten by Daniil Medvedev. Tsitsipas then entered the Rotterdam Open as the top seed and reached the final, before losing to Felix Auger Aliassime in straight sets.
Seeded No. 1 at the Open 13 in Marseille, Tsitsipas received a bye into the second round, where he beat Hugo Gaston in straight sets.
TSITSIPAS OVERCOMES GASTON
open13.fr/en/news/articl…
#O13Provence @steftsitsipas https://t.co/kRcEg51MbG
Roman Safiullin, meanwhile, started his 2022 season strongly, helping Russia reach the semifinals of the ATP Cup. He won two singles matches and three out of four doubles fixtures during the course of the team competition.
The 24-year-old qualified for the main draw of the Australian Open but was eliminated in the first round by Slovakia's Alex Molcan.
After failing to qualify for the Open Sud de France, Safiullin signed up for the Open 13, where he defeated Ernests Gulbis and Julian Lenz to qualify for the main draw.
The Russian defeated seventh seed Alexei Popyrin and fellow qualifier Tomas Machac to reach the quarterfinals.
through to quarterfinals after defeating Tomas Machac 6-7(6) 6-4 7-6(4) 
Roman Safiullin 🇷🇺 through to quarterfinals after defeating Tomas Machac 6-7(6) 6-4 7-6(4) 👊
#O13Provence #atptour https://t.co/cCQoGL9GjJ
Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Roman Safiullin head-to-head
Friday's match in Marseille will be the first meeting between the two players, so their head-to-head currently stands at 0-0.
The winner will progress to the semifinals, where they will face either third seed Felix Auger-Aliassime or fifth seed Ilya Ivashka.
Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Roman Safiullin prediction
Given the huge gap in the rankings, Tsitsipas will undoubtedly be the overwhelming favorite to win this match. However, Safiullin will be high on confidence after his two battling wins and could pose a stern threat to the top seed.
Tsitsipas has won 11 out of 14 matches this season, all of them coming on hardcourt. Safiullin, on the other hand, has a 9-5 record on the surface this year.
The Greek's biggest strength is his forehand. He has the ability to change direction at will and move his opponents around the court before striking a winner. His serve has also functioned well so far and Safiullin will have a tough task trying to break the Greek.
Safiullin also has a pretty big serve and he will need to lean on it heavily to try and stay with the Greek on the scoreboard. However, Tsitsipas has far too much firepower at his disposal and should be able to beat the Russian and reach the semifinals.
Prediction: Tsitsipas to win in straight sets.
Also Check Out : What is Stefanos Tsitsipas's Net Worth in 2022?