It’s the feeling of the day. Carlos Alcaraz, who is guaranteed to become world number one next week, was ousted on Monday from the Masters 1000 in Rome by Fabian Marozsan, in two sets (6-3, 7-6 [7-4]), after one hour and forty minutes of play. In what was the greatest match of his career, the Hungarian, coming from the qualifications, overcame the Spaniard thanks to his lucidity and powerful winning shots.
Broken from the start and fragile on the backhand side, Marozsan, who defeated Frenchman Corentin Moutet in the first round, finally overtook Alcaraz, quickly catching up on his late serve, leading 4-1 in the first set. By raising his level, exchanges after exchanges, he managed to maintain his break lead to win the first set (6-3), which he acquired by pushing the Spaniard to make a mistake and overtaking him on the court. Lacking a solution, Alcaraz, who did everything to play on his opponent’s backhand, lacked technical rigor, offering several points to the Hungarian, already at ease in his match.
End of invincibility
For the Spaniard, it was then necessary to reverse the meeting. But, amazingly, the 135e world player held firm at a time when one could expect a drop in his regularity and less precision. Marozsan always stayed one step ahead of his opponent and kept control of the game. Effective volleys, precise drop shots, repeated winning shots… the Hungarian revealed his full range and forced Alcaraz to play a tie-break to stay in the game.
While he was ahead in the decisive game – 4 points to 1 for the Spaniard – Marozsan refused to abdicate and confirmed his state of grace. By scoring six straight points, he caught up and won the match, leaving a Carlos Alcaraz stunned by defeat. After this feat, Fabian Marozsan will face the Croatian Borna Coric (16e world) in the next round.
😮 Sensation in Rome! Alcaraz takes the door in the 3rd round, beaten in two sets (6-3, 7-6) by the Hungarian Marozsan,… https://t.co/89sTyAOjWq
After winning the Madrid tournament, the future world number one came out the back door of the last tournament before Roland-Garros (May 28-June 11), and put an end to a series of twelve victories. The long-awaited poster for the final of this Masters 1000 in Rome, between the Serbian Novak Djokovic and Alcaraz, will therefore not take place. This is an opportunity for the Spaniard to make some adjustments before the Parisian Grand Slam, where, despite this defeat, he will be one of the favorites to try to succeed his compatriot Rafael Nadal, still uncertain.
