Novak Djokovic vs Roman Safiullin 10/1/22 Tel Aviv Open Tennis Picks, Predictions, Odds

Novak Djokovic will meet Roman Safiullin in the Semi-Finals of the 2022 Tel Aviv Open. The match will be played on Saturday October 1st, 2022 at 12:30pm EST.

Novak Djokovic is the top seed here at the Tel Aviv Open and is ranked 7th in the world. The Serbian star has had a turbulent year to say the least, with his vaccination status making headlines rather than his tennis. After the disappointment of not being able to play the Australian and US Opens he will be aiming to finish the year on a high, and he certainly has been impressive so far this week, defeating Pablo Andujar and Vasek Pospisil in straight sets to reach the Semis. His next opponent Roman Safiullin is not expected to put up much resistance, and Djokovic is heavily favored to move on to the Final here.

Roman Safiullin is unseeded here at the Tel Aviv Open and is ranked 104th in the world. The Russian will have done enough here to break into the top 100, and it has been a solid season overall for him. A stellar record at Challenger level was backed up by two ATP level Semi-Finals, but he will need a miracle here if he is to go any further. Next up for the 24 year old is tennis legend Novak Djokovic, and he will need to produce by far the best tennis he has ever played here, and even that will likely not be enough.

The question isn’t if Novak Djokovic will win, but rather by how much. Anything is possible, but Roman Safiullin stands a microscopic chance of getting anything out of this match against the experienced Serbian. The odds are long, so the smart play here is to back a straight sets win for Djokovic which is a certainty in my eyes.