Two things that stood out in Roman Safiullin's 2R win over Alexander Zverev at Shanghai Masters

Roman Safiullin of Russia beat ninth seed Alexander Zverev of Germany 6-3 6-1 in the second round of the Shanghai Masters last Friday, October 6. The match was over in less than two hours, as the 26-year-old Russian came up with a scintillating performance. Zverev, meanwhile, once again disappointed in a big tournament after having won a smaller tournament in Chengdu.

Safiullin, who had beaten Andy Murray in the first round, was very impressive against the 26-year-old German. He will face Ben Shelton of the United States in the third round on Sunday.

On that note, let us take a look at two things that stood out in the match:

#1. Safiullin played a lot of approaches throughout the match:

Safiullin put pressure on Zverev by playing a lot of approaches in the match. He then ventured forward into the net to hit winners through volleys. The Russian’s clean hitting allowed him to push Zverev behind the baseline before he could move into the forecourt to hit winners.

Safiullin also went around his backhand more often to put pressure on Zverev’s backhand with his inside-out forehand. As a result, the German had to stretch towards his left often and could not hit his backhand with much power.

The Russian broke Zverev early in the first set to take a lead and then built on it to win the first set with consummate ease. The Russian’s ballstriking was of the highest quality and did not give his opponent much of a chance.

#2. Zverev fared really poorly with his first serve:

Zverev boasts one of the more dangerous first serves in the world, but he struggled to win points off it against Safiullin. The Russian literally toyed with Zverev’s first serve in the second set, breaking him thrice. On the other hand, Zverev was not able to break his opponent even once in the match and had only a single break point opportunity.

The slower surface also nullified the potency of Zverev’s serve. Safiullin, to his credit, hit a few very good returns to keep the pressure on the German. Zverev, meanwhile, struggled to hit through his opponent. The German managed to win only 48% of the points on his first serve in the match, while Safiullin managed a staggering 89%. It was a mismatch of sorts on the day, as the Russian romped home easily.