Carlos Alcaraz dumped out by world No. 135 Fabian Marozsan in seismic upset at Italian Open
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Updated 15/05/2023 at 17:54 GMT
Fabian Marozsan is through to the last 16 of the Italian Open after producing a scintillating performance to knock out Carlos Alcaraz in front of a shocked crowd on Centre Court. Marozsan was excellent with his use of drop shots to prevent Alcaraz from getting comfortable at the baseline and was particularly dangerous off his first serve to cause one of the biggest upsets in ATP Tour history.
Highlights: Alcaraz's 12-match winning streak ends with loss to qualifier Fabian Marozsan in Rome
Fabian Marozsan produced the best performance of his career so far to knock Carlos Alcaraz out of the Italian Open 6-3 7-6(4).
The 23-year-old produced an almost flawless display to knock out the Spaniard, who is considered one of the main contenders to win the French Open later this month.
Marozsan, who battled through qualifying to play in his first ATP main draw event of his career, will face No. 15 seed Borna Coric in the last 16.
Alcaraz, meanwhile, will be forced to turn his attention to the French Open which gets underway on May 28 after an abrupt exit on his Rome debut.
"I'm very happy, I couldn't imagine this one," Marozsan said after his remarkable victory.
"It was my dream last night. Now it's true I'm very happy about this. Yesterday we spoke about this match, I told you I'll just try to do something special and win a few games or maybe a set. I just beat our world No. 1. He's our best in the sport so I'm really happy about this.
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'I just beat the best' says Marozsan after upsetting Alcaraz at Italian Open
"I slept well... there was no problem with my sleep! Everything was perfect today. The crowd, the weather, the court, so I'm just very happy I'm doing my job.
"In the tie-break it was 1-4 then I won six points in a row. It's amazing. I don't know what happened during the points. I just tried to reach back every point and do my best."
Reflecting on the defeat, Carlos Alcaraz admitted he was "surprised" by the quality of his opponent.
"He surprised me a lot," he told reporters in his press conference. "His level was really high and I'm sure he will be in the top 100 very soon. He was surprising for me.
"I didn't play really well. Of course he played his match. He plays at a really high level, I couldn't follow his level. He was at the same level the whole match which is very difficult. I tried to fight until the last ball but it wasn't enough."
Marozsan got off to a confident start with a host of drop shots causing Alcaraz plenty of problems.
At 2-1 up, the Hungarian quickly earned three break points and clinched the first one with a ferocious cross-court forehand winner to take a commanding lead.
Alcaraz was unable to get into any kind of rhythm against his opponent and laboured to hold his next two service games.
Meanwhile, Marozsan produced back-to-back love holds of serve to take the opening set in 33 minutes.
Alcaraz continued to struggle behind his second serve and did just enough to hold his opening two service games, but Marozsan made it four love service holds in a row for 2-2.
The Spaniard looked at the ground in disappointment in the very next game as another unforced error handed Marozsan three break points. However, Marozsan squandered all three in what looked to be a big missed opportunity for the Hungarian.
But the qualifier got himself another two break points at 3-3 and converted the second one by lobbing Alcaraz, forcing him to strike into the net. A roar rang around Centre Court with a huge upset on the cards.
The crowd got even more boisterous when Alcaraz responded instantly by breaking back, finishing off a Marozsan drop shot at the net to make it 4-4.
The high-quality battle continued to a tie-break and Alcaraz raced to a 4-1 lead, but Marozsan came back to make it 5-4 with a stunning reverse forehand winner down the line.
In the end, it was an Alcaraz unforced error which handed Marozsan the match which will go down as one of the biggest upsets in ATP Tour history.
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