De Minaur defeats Safiullin in first round of Doha tournament
After Carlos Alcaraz's victory over Marin Cilic (6-4, 6-4) on Monday, the number 2 seed in Qatar is next up.
Alex De Minaur, number 8 in the ATP rankings, also entered the fray, and the Australian had a first round match against Roman Safiullin to negotiate.
The Russian, ranked 71st in the world, has already cracked the top 40, but is still looking for his first success in 2025.
Having lost in his first round in Hong Kong (to Marozsan), Adelaide (to Guinard) and then at the Australian Open (to Kokkinakis), Safiullin needs to put in a big performance to open his account of victories this season.
De Minaur dominated the early stages of the match, leaving his opponent nothing but scraps.
The second set, on the other hand, was more indecisive and De Minaur, who was serving for the match at 5-4, saw the Russian come back, converting a break point for the first time.
Safiullin's hopes were short-lived, however, as the quarter-finalist of the last Australian Open quickly regained the lead before closing out the next game.
In the end, De Minaur prevailed (6-1, 7-5 in 1h37 of play). This is the 200th victory on hard court on the ATP Tour for the Australian, who reaches the last 16.
He will face Dutch player Botic van de Zandschulp, who eliminated Abdullah Shelbayh (7-5, 6-3), for a place in the quarters.
Doha 
