Fabian Marozsan produced one of the biggest upsets in recent memory on Monday at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia, where he downed World No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz 6-3, 7-6(4) to reach the fourth round in Rome.
The No. 135-ranked Hungarian qualifier is playing in his first ATP Tour main draw but showed no signs of nerves as he outplayed Alcaraz with a quality display of clean hitting at the clay-court ATP Masters 1000.
“It’s not easy to say something, I’m very, very happy,” said Marozsan. “I couldn’t imagine this. it was my dream last night. Now it’s true, I am very, very happy about this… I just tried to do something special, maybe winning a few games or a set or something like this, and now I just beat the [World No. 2].”
Alcaraz entered the match with a 30-2 record for the 2023 season but was frequently undone by the depth of Marozsan’s groundstrokes, which gave the Spaniard few chances to take control of rallies. The Hungarian’s drop shot also matched the quality of his opponent’s throughout, and he clinched the biggest win of his career in one hour, 40 minutes to send shockwaves around the Foro Italico.
“Everything was perfect today,” said Marozsan. “The crowd, the weather, the court. I’m just happy I’m doing my job.
“I think in the tie-break it was 1/4 and I won six points in a row. 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 out how to win points against him in that tough situation, and it just happened. I don’t know what to say.”
"I tried to fight until the last ball, but it wasn't enough," reflected Alcaraz in his post-match press conference. "Of course, in the second set, it was close. I had my chances at 6-5, 15/30. I would say I could win that set, except little things happened. Of course, he deserves the win. If he plays at that level, he's going to surprise more than one."
The 23-year-old Marozsan’s reward for his stunning display is a fourth-round match against Borna Coric. The 15th-seeded Croatian earlier overcame Roberto Carballes Baena 7-6(3), 6-1.
Players Outside Top 100 To Beat Top 2 Opponents (Since 2015)
After fending off a break point to hold serve in the opening game, it quickly became clear that Marozsan’s flat hitting would pose at least a stern test to the second-seeded Alcaraz. The Hungarian broke to love in the fourth game and held firm behind his delivery to claim an opening set in which he struck 12 winners to Alcaraz’s four.
Despite remaining under pressure for much of the second set, Alcaraz threatened to find his way back into the match. The Spaniard saved five of six break points he faced to force a tie-break in which he then forged a 4/1 lead. As he had done throughout the encounter, however, Marozsan quickly rediscovered his timing behind his groundstrokes after a setback and reeled off six straight points to seal a famous triumph.
Although Alcaraz struggled to find the level that has helped him lift four ATP Tour trophies already in 2023, it was Marozsan’s relentless quality that proved decisive to the outcome. The two-time ATP Challenger Tour champion finished with 30 winners to Alcaraz’s 15 and prevailed in 69 per cent 18/26 of points when he came to the net.
By becoming the first player outside the Top 100 of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings to beat Alcaraz since the No. 103-ranked Hugo Gaston at Paris-Bercy in 2021, Marozsan rose 21 spots to No. 114 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings. After coming through qualifying, the Hungarian defeated Corentin Moutet and 32nd seed Jiri Lehecka in his opening main-draw matches in Rome.
The No. 135-ranked Hungarian qualifier is playing in his first ATP Tour main draw but showed no signs of nerves as he outplayed Alcaraz with a quality display of clean hitting at the clay-court ATP Masters 1000.
“It’s not easy to say something, I’m very, very happy,” said Marozsan. “I couldn’t imagine this. it was my dream last night. Now it’s true, I am very, very happy about this… I just tried to do something special, maybe winning a few games or a set or something like this, and now I just beat the [World No. 2].”
What a performance
Fabian Marozsan plays aggressively and with quality ??
It is very rare for Alcaraz to have both forehand and backhand #ShotQuality scores in the's ?#TennisInsights | @atptour | @InteBNLdItalia pic.twitter.com/zPOm0T8PcE
— Tennis Insights (@tennis_insights) May 15, 2023
Alcaraz entered the match with a 30-2 record for the 2023 season but was frequently undone by the depth of Marozsan’s groundstrokes, which gave the Spaniard few chances to take control of rallies. The Hungarian’s drop shot also matched the quality of his opponent’s throughout, and he clinched the biggest win of his career in one hour, 40 minutes to send shockwaves around the Foro Italico.
“Everything was perfect today,” said Marozsan. “The crowd, the weather, the court. I’m just happy I’m doing my job.
“I think in the tie-break it was 1/4 and I won six points in a row. 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 out how to win points against him in that tough situation, and it just happened. I don’t know what to say.”
"I tried to fight until the last ball, but it wasn't enough," reflected Alcaraz in his post-match press conference. "Of course, in the second set, it was close. I had my chances at 6-5, 15/30. I would say I could win that set, except little things happened. Of course, he deserves the win. If he plays at that level, he's going to surprise more than one."
The 23-year-old Marozsan’s reward for his stunning display is a fourth-round match against Borna Coric. The 15th-seeded Croatian earlier overcame Roberto Carballes Baena 7-6(3), 6-1.
Players Outside Top 100 To Beat Top 2 Opponents (Since 2015)
| Event & Year | Result |
| Dubai 2022 | No. 123 Vesely d No. 1 Djokovic |
| 's-Hertogenbosch 2022 | No. 205 Van Rijthoven d No. 2 Medvedev |
| Miami 2018 | No. 175 Kokkinakis d No. 1 Federer |
| Indian Wells 2017 | No. 129 Pospisil d No. 1 Murray |
| Montreal 2017 | No. 143 Shapovalov d No. 2 Nadal |
| Australian Open 2017 | No. 117 Istomin d No. 2 Djokovic |
| Rio de Janeiro Olympics | No. 141 Del Potro d No. 1 Djokovic |
After fending off a break point to hold serve in the opening game, it quickly became clear that Marozsan’s flat hitting would pose at least a stern test to the second-seeded Alcaraz. The Hungarian broke to love in the fourth game and held firm behind his delivery to claim an opening set in which he struck 12 winners to Alcaraz’s four.
Despite remaining under pressure for much of the second set, Alcaraz threatened to find his way back into the match. The Spaniard saved five of six break points he faced to force a tie-break in which he then forged a 4/1 lead. As he had done throughout the encounter, however, Marozsan quickly rediscovered his timing behind his groundstrokes after a setback and reeled off six straight points to seal a famous triumph.
Although Alcaraz struggled to find the level that has helped him lift four ATP Tour trophies already in 2023, it was Marozsan’s relentless quality that proved decisive to the outcome. The two-time ATP Challenger Tour champion finished with 30 winners to Alcaraz’s 15 and prevailed in 69 per cent 18/26 of points when he came to the net.
By becoming the first player outside the Top 100 of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings to beat Alcaraz since the No. 103-ranked Hugo Gaston at Paris-Bercy in 2021, Marozsan rose 21 spots to No. 114 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings. After coming through qualifying, the Hungarian defeated Corentin Moutet and 32nd seed Jiri Lehecka in his opening main-draw matches in Rome.