Quentin Halys vs Roman Safiullin — R16 — Hangzhou Open

Roman Safiullin is into the Hangzhou Open quarterfinals after beating fourth seed Quentin Halys in three sets, and he managed it while winning fewer points than the man across the net: 85 of the 174 played. Halys' first serve was barely dented. He hit 14 aces to Safiullin's seven and won 92 percent of his first-serve points, against 76 percent for Safiullin, and he closed the opening set by breaking in games 11 and 12 for 7-5. The second serve was another matter — 12 of 28 points won behind it. Safiullin broke for 3-1 in the second set and again in game nine to level the match, then broke in the first game of the decider. That lead held to the finish. Halys created one break point across the third set and did not take it, while Safiullin held 15 of his 16 service games over the two hours and 16 minutes. Safiullin, 29 and ranked ATP No. 102, started the season at 170 and has been as high as 92 this year. The ranking gap of 53 places did not make this a surprise on the betting market, which had favored him at 55 percent. The two had no prior meetings on record. Safiullin lost two games to Fajing Sun in the previous round; Halys had opened his week with a bye.