'Great sportsmanship' - Roman Safiullin helps cramping Alex Molcan up after losing match at 2022 Australian Open
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Published 18/01/2022 at 12:40 GMT
Roman Safiullin might have been disappointed with losing his first-round match at the Australian Open but he wasn't about to ignore his opponent, Alex Molcan, who was in discomfort after a bout of cramps. Stream the 2022 Australian Open live and on demand on discovery+. A subscription for discovery+ is now £29.99 for the first year for UK users, down from £59.99
'This is great sportsmanship!'- Safiullin helps Molcan to feet after epic end to match
There was some incredible sportsmanship shown by Roman Safiullin as he helped his cramping opponent Alex Molcan to his feet after losing their Australian Open first-round match.
Molcan looked to be closing on victory as he led 6-3 7-6(9) 5-7 and then 5-1 in the fourth set tie-break.
However, he was then hit with severe cramping and was almost unable to move on some points.
That resulted in him losing five of the next six points as Safiullin clawed his way back into the tie-break.
But just as it looked as though the match might be heading away from Molcan, he managed to win two points in a row to secure the victory.
The Slovakian fell to the floor after winning and only got up when he was helped to his feet by Safiullin, who came round the net and pulled him up.
A limping Molcan was then helped back to his chair by a physio, seemingly still in plenty of discomfort and unable to properly celebrate his win.
He will hope to have recovered in time to face Pablo Andujar in his next match on Thursday.
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Stream the 2022 Australian Open live and on demand on discovery+. A subscription for discovery+ is now £29.99 for the first year for UK users, down from £59.99
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