WATCH: When Daniil Medvedev predicted Carlos Alcaraz-conqueror Roman Safiullin to be the dark horse of 2023

Roman Safiullin defeated Carlos Alcaraz on Tuesday, October 30, in the first round of the 2023 Paris Masters. Safiullin has been enjoying his best season to date. Daniil Medvedev earlier predicted that Safiullin would emerge as the dark horse of the season.

During an interview with the ATP Tour at the start of the season, the current world No. 3 was questioned about who he believed would be an underdog to watch in the 2023 season. He selected his compatriot Roman Safiullin and praised his tennis skills.

“I will go with Roman Safiullin. He can play really good tennis so lets see what he is capable of,” Medvedev said.

In September last year, Safiullin achieved a career-high ranking of 41. He also claimed his first ATP Challenger Tour title of the year at the 2023 Koblenz Open in January. During the ATP Masters events in Madrid and Rome, he reached the round of 32 in both tournaments.

One of his standout performances came at the 2023 Wimbledon, where he made an impressive run to the quarterfinals before losing to Jannik Sinner. Safiullin's first victory against an ATP top 10 player came last year when he defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas in Marseille.

He secured his second top 10 win this season by defeating Alexander Zverev at the Shanghai Masters. Most recently on Tuesday, Safiullin caused a major upset by defeating the world No. 2, Carlos Alcaraz, in the second round of the Paris Masters 6-3, 6-4.

After Carlos Alcaraz victory, Roman Safiullin to face Karen Khachanov in the R16 at the Paris Masters

Rolex Paris Masters - Carlos Alcaraz had his first 1R exit if the season

The Paris Masters began on October 28th and will end on Sunday, November 5th, 2023. Following the biggest win of his career on Tuesday against Carlos Alcaraz, Safiullin is set to face his countryman, Karen Khachanov, in the second round of the Paris Masters.

Khachanov won against the 27-year-old Serbian, Laslo Djere, 6-4, 7-5 at the Accor Arena on Tuesday. Khachanov also secured his first title in five years in September at the 2023 Zhuhai Championships.

Karen Khachanov is currently ranked 15th in the world while Roman Safiullin is ranked 45th. They have faced each other once on the ATP Tour so far. The duo met at ATP Vienna, with Khachanov emerging victorious 6-4, 6-4.