ROME, 15 May (AP) \u2014 Carlos Alcaraz\u2019s 12-match winning streak came to an unexpected end when he was beaten by 135th-ranked Hungarian qualifier Fabian Marozsan 6-3, 7-6 (4) Monday in the third round of the Italian Open.<\/p>\n
Alcaraz had won consecutive clay-court titles in Barcelona and Madrid and secured a return to the No. 1 ranking by winning the opening match of his Rome debut. But the 20-year-old Spaniard appeared surprised by how Marozsan dictated with spectacular play all over the court, including a series of drop shots that Alcaraz had no answer for.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just didn\u2019t feel comfortable. He made me to feel uncomfortable on court,\u201d Alcaraz said. \u201cHe was aggressive all the time. He was playing inside the baseline all the time. It was tough for me to get into the match, into the rally. I made a lot of mistakes that I usually don\u2019t make too much.\u201d<\/p>\n
The result means that Alcaraz will go into the French Open \u2014 which starts in less than two weeks and where he will be the top seed \u2014 coming off a dispiriting defeat.<\/p>\n
It was only the second loss on clay for Alcaraz this year after getting beaten by Cameron Norrie in the Rio de Janeiro final in February.<\/p>\n
Making matters even more surprising was that this is the first time Marozsan is playing in the main draw of an ATP tournament.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe surprise(d) me a lot. His level was really, really high,\u201d Alcaraz said. \u201cI\u2019m sure he\u2019s going to break the top 100 very, very soon.\u201d<\/p>\n
The match took place before a packed stadium on Campo Centrale.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was my dream last night. And now it\u2019s true\u201d Marozsan said. \u201cI just try to do something special or winning a few games or maybe a set or something like this, and I just beat the world No. 1 \u2014 he\u2019s our best in the sport.<\/p>\n
\u201cEverything was perfect today: the crowd, the weather, the court,\u201d Marozsan said.<\/p>\n
Alcaraz established a 4-1 lead in the tiebreaker but Marozsan then won six straight points to close it out.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s amazing. I don\u2019t know what happened during the points,\u201d Marozsan said. \u201cI just try to hit back every ball and try to do my best.\u201d<\/p>\n
Late in the second set, Alcaraz started yelling \u201cVamos\u201d every time he won a significant point. But Marozsan just kept coming, unleashing an 82 mph (132 kph) backhand winner up the line to conclude one point and winning several close exchanges at the net.<\/p>\n
By the end, Marozan had compiled twice as many winners as Alcaraz, 24 to 12, and far fewer unforced errors, 13 to 24.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t play really, really well obviously,\u201d Alcaraz said. \u201cI couldn\u2019t follow his level. He was at the same level the whole match. That is very, very difficult. He deserves the win. If he plays at that level, he\u2019s going to surprise more than one (player).\u201d<\/p>\n
Marozsan will next face Borna Coric, who continued his solid form on clay by beating Roberto Carballes Baena 7-6 (3), 6-1. At the Madrid Open last week, Coric reached the semifinals before losing to Alcaraz.<\/p>\n
Also, Monte Carlo Masters champion Andrey Rublev defeated Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 7-6 (8), 6-3 and will next play German qualifier Yannick Hanfmann, who beat former French Open semifinalist Marco Cecchinato 6-4, 4-6, 6-3.<\/p>\n
In women\u2019s action, Anhelina Kalinina of Ukraine rallied past 2016 runner-up Madison Keys 2-6, 6-2, 6-4 to reach the quarterfinals; Veronika Kudermetova beat Marie Bouzkova 6-2, 6-2; Zheng Quinwen defeated fellow Chinese player Wang Xiyu 6-4, 3-6, 6-1; and Beatriz Haddad Maia eliminated Colombian qualifier Camila Osorio 6-3, 6-3.<\/p>\n
Later, two-time defending champion Iga Swiatek was facing Donna Vekic.<\/p>\n
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ROME, 15 May (AP) \u2014 Carlos Alcaraz\u2019s 12-match winning streak came to an unexpected end when he was beaten by 135th-ranked Hungarian qualifier Fabian Marozsan 6-3, 7-6 (4) Monday in the third round of the Italian Open. Alcaraz had won consecutive clay-court titles in Barcelona and Madrid and secured a return to the No. 1 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-216286","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/216286","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=216286"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/216286\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=216286"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=216286"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=216286"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}