(VIDEO) Not a dry eye in the house: Roman Safiullin bursts out in tears after dumping out Joao Fonseca at Wimbledon

Friday, 03 July 2026 at 16:00

There wasn't a dry eye in the house as Roman Safiullin burst out into tears after dumping out Brazilian king pin, Joao Fonseca beating him in straight sets with Novak Djokovic potentially en route in the fourth round at Wimbledon.

Safiullin's wife Liudmyla, couldn't watch during the key moment after Safiullin won as she was crying in the stands, and as for the Russian, he didn't fare much better as the emotions got the better of him. He spoke about his fears of returning to the big stage after a tough time with injuries and was clear about how much it meant to him.

This is when he had to stop the interview halfway through. "After the US Open I had to stop to treat my injury. That time was super tough," he said. "Even half a year ago I didn’t know if I’d be able to be back. I didn’t know. I’m super happy to be back here.”

Safiullin likely to play Djokovic

Safiullin who came through qualifying had to also go through multiple brutal games before he faced off against teenage star Fonseca. He dumped out Andrey Rublev in the opening round before going the distance against Botic van de Zandschulp needing a final set 10-point tie-break in both matches.

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He just needs one more win to match his best albeit that is likely to come against Novak Djokovic with Safiullin facing the winner of the tie between Djokovic and Arthur Rinderknech.

Safiullin was in the top 40 of the ATP Rankings in January 2024, but he has since slipped out of the top 100 after a difficult time with injuries. He becomes the latest player to admit that he nearly packed it in with Nick Kyrgios seemingly taking the opposing tone and being on the verge of not playing anymore.

He played doubles with Alexander Bublik and said that he has likely played his last point at Wimbledon. Safiullin certainly hasn't.

An emotional victory for world number 132 Roman Safiullin 🥹 pic.twitter.com/7qAi8SdoWA
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) July 3, 2026

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