Playing for the first time since losing in the Shanghai last 16 on 11 October, the 20-year-old moved a break up in each set.īut Safiullin recovered impressively - returning well to put Alcaraz's second serve under pressure and also sharp when he came forward from the baseline - to earn the biggest win of his career by ranking. It leaves Alcaraz with a tough task to overhaul Novak Djokovic at the top of the rankings before the season ends.Īlcaraz, who won Wimbledon in July for the second Grand Slam title of his career, pulled out of Basel last week with injury. The Russian qualifier played superbly throughout and Alcaraz had few answers in a below-par performance.
