Carlos Alcaraz, who will become world N.1 again next Monday and remained on two titles in Barcelona and Madrid, was beaten on Monday in the 3rd round of the Masters 1000 of Rome by the 135th world Fabian Marozsan, 6-3, 7-6 (7/4).
With less than two weeks to go before the start of Roland Garros, where he will be one of the main favourites, the 20-year-old Spaniard was caught up in speed by his Hungarian opponent who had never won a match on the ATP Tour before this Roman tournament.
THE MOTHER OF ALL UPSETS
đ€Ż World No. 135 (!) Fabian Marozsan (!) has taken out Carlos Alcaraz (!) in straight sets (!) #IBI23 | @Reale_Mutua | #YourNextLevel pic.twitter.com/FDAx0CW6gs
â Internazionali BNL d'Italia (@InteBNLdItalia) May 15, 2023
In the next round, Marozsan, 23, will face Croatia's Borna Coric (16th) to try to reach the quarterfinals.
For Alcaraz, it's an unexpected stop to a high-flying series. After missing the Australian Open in January with injury, the Spaniard has won four of the six tournaments played since, in Buenos Aires, Indian Wells, Barcelona and Madrid. He also played the final in Rio and the semis in Miami.
In total, before facing Marozsan, Alcaraz had since the beginning of the season two defeats for 30 victories, including 20 on clay. But, astonishing as it is, on Monday, he was smothered by Marozsan, to the point of showing gestures of frustration.
Because everything worked for the native of Budapest who hit in all directions and distilled some well-felt cushions for a total of 24 winning shots (12 for Alcaraz).
First career ATP Tour main draw in Rome âïž
The first Hungarian male to reach the last 16 in 42 years đđș
Defeats World No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz đ€Ż
This is your moment, Fabian Marozsan âïž @InteBNLdItalia | #IBI23 pic.twitter.com/8YkuOjSHRA
â ATP Tour (@atptour) May 15, 2023
Against all odds, the Hungarian broke in the first set to lead 3-1 by taking Alcaraz's service game blank. He concluded with a shutout on his own play.
In the second set, Marozsan stayed on his cloud until he broke to lead 4-3. But this time it was slightly less sharp and allowed Alcaraz to immediately come back to 4-4. At 5-5, the Hungarian still had a break ball, but could not avoid the tie-break.
In this decisive game, Alcaraz seemed able to turn the match around when he broke away 4/1. But it was Marozsan who chained the next six points to win the best victory of his career.
Four times this year, he failed to qualify on the main circuit: at the Australian Open, Marseille, Estoril and Banja Luka. In Rome, after his two qualifying rounds, he had obtained his first two ATP victories by beating the Frenchman Corentin Moutet (67th) and the Czech Jiri Lehecka (39th).