Carlos Alcaraz’s third-round match at the 2023 Italian Open against Fabian Marozsan reached a shocking conclusion on Monday, May 15. The World No. 135 from Hungary crushed the World No. 2 in straight sets 6-3, 7-6 (4).
Marozsan, a qualifier at the tournament, broke in the fourth game of the opening set and held his serve thereafter to clinch the opener 6-3. In the second set, the 23-year-old earned a break in the seventh game but was broken right back by the US Open champion.
Nonetheless, Fabian Marozsan kept his belief alive and pushed the Spaniard to a tiebreaker. Alcaraz was three points away from forcing a decider as he led 4-1 in the tiebreak. His opponent, however, had other ideas. The Hungarian rose to the occasion and won six straight points to score the biggest victory of his career.
In the on-court interview, Fabian Marozsan reflected on the surreal win, revealing that his dream from the previous night had come true.
“I’m very, very happy. I can’t imagine this one. It was my dream last night. So yeah, now it’s true. I’m very, very happy about this,” he said.
The World No. 135 recalled saying that he will need to produce something special in his pre-match talks. He suggested that his best hope was to take a set off of Carlos Alcaraz, who is the World No. 1 in live rankings.
“Yesterday we spoke about this match [and] I told you, I’ll just try to do something special or winning a few games or maybe a set or something like this,” he said, “I just beat the World No. 1 He is our best in the sport.”
Marozsan conveyed that he was satisfied with his sleep, with the court, the weather, and the atmosphere created by the Roman crowd.
“I slept well. There was no problem. Everything was perfect today. I mean, the crowd, the weather, the court. So, yeah. I’m just very happy, I’m doing my job,” he said.
Speaking about the thrilling tiebreak, Marozsan confessed that he has no recollection of the points as he was hyper-focused on returning every shot coming from Alcaraz.
“In the tiebreak it was 1-4. Then I won six points, maybe, in a row. I mean, it’s amazing! I don’t know what happened during the points. I just tried to hit back every ball and tried to do my best. I tried to find something – How can I win points against him in this tough situation, and it just happened. So, I don’t know what to say,” he said.
Fabian Marozsan is playing his first ATP Tour main draw at the ongoing 2023 Italian Open after successfully making it through to the qualifiers. Prior to Carlos Alcaraz, he defeated Corentin Moutet and Jiri Lehecka in the first and second rounds respectively.
Carlos Alcaraz will reclaim World No. 1 spot despite 2023 Italian Open loss to Fabian Marozsan
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Carlos Alcaraz is set to reclaim his World No. 1 crown on Monday, despite his shocking early exit against qualifier Fabian Marozsan in the Italian Open third round.
The Spaniard trailed current World No. 1 Novak Djokovic by five points before the Masters 1000 in Rome. By winning his opening match against compatriot Albert Ramos Vinolas, Alcaraz has earned a crucial lead of at least 40 points over the Serb. Djokovic is defending his title at the Italian Open and has reached the Round of 16.
Carlos Alcaraz is thus preparing to be the top seed at the upcoming French Open, where he will be seen in action next.