MAUTHAUSEN, May 2, 2026

Roman Safiullin extended his winning streak to 11 matches by reaching the singles final of the Danube Upper Austria Open by SKE. The 28-year-old Russian, champion of the Oeiras Open 125 last week, fought past home favourite Lukas Neumayer 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 on a sunny Saturday afternoon in Mauthausen.

Safiullin sent down five aces and won 78 per cent of his first-service points to seal victory in one hour and 49 minutes.

“It was important to find a way to survive today, as he started to play better in the second set and in the third set. I had to fight for every point. I managed to break him in the final set. That was key,” the world No. 176 told Tennis TourTalk after the match.

How does he feel physically? “I am feeling good,” responded Safiullin, who missed the second half of the 2025 season due to injury. “I had a break between the tournaments and started in Mauthausen on Tuesday. So I could also do some physical work. The tournament in Oeiras was really great, as I began in the qualifying and found a good rhythm in the week. It was a great experience. Winning a Challenger after the injury was very nice.”

Faria cruises past Blanch

Earlier in the day, Jaime Faria from Portugal eased past US-American teenager Darwin Blanch 6-3, 6-2. The No. 7 seed of the ATP Challenger 100 tournament saved the only break point he faced and capitalized on three of his own six break-point chances to advance in only 57 minutes.

RIGHT back at ya 💥

Jaime Faria fires his way into the final, defeating Blanch 6-3, 6-2! 👏#ATPChallenger | 🇦🇹 Mauthausen pic.twitter.com/j0focBaBix

— ATP Challenger (@ATPChallenger) May 2, 2026

Safiullin and Faria will meet for the second time within the last two weeks. Safiullin beat the Portuguese in three sets in the quarterfinals in Oeiras last week.