Alcaraz gets French Open wake-up call after slumping to 3rd round defeat in Rome

15.05.2023 - 23:57 arabnews.com

ROME: Carlos Alcaraz slumped to a third round defeat at the Italian Open by unheralded Hungarian Fabian Marozsan on Monday, just two weeks before he heads into the French Open as top seed.

The 20-year-old Spaniard, who is guaranteed to replace Novak Djokovic as world No. 1 on May 22, had come into the tournament in Rome on the back of wins in Barcelona and Madrid.

But the US Open champion was outplayed by 23-year-old Marozsan, losing 6-3, 7-6 (7/4). Marozsan, who is ranked 135th in the world, won the final six points of the second-set tiebreak to give Alcaraz a wake-up call with the French Open starting in less than a fortnight.

Alcaraz, who was second seed in Rome but in Paris will be top seed at a Grand Slam for the first time, said he required some sustained training to beef up his French Open preparations with the clay-court major beginning on May 28. “I’m going to rest a little bit, some days off for me,” he said. “I really need some days to reset my mind and be fresh for Roland Garros. “If I want to go to Paris in good shape, I have to practice, to be better.

tennis WTA call Iga Swiatek Carlos Alcaraz Roland Garros Aryna Sabalenka Novak Djokovic Fabian Marozsan France Italy Usa Hungary Madrid Paris Rome

Novak Djokovic battled into the French Open fourth round for a 14th consecutive year on Friday as Carlos Alcaraz also progressed, after women's third seed Jessica Pegula and men's seventh-ranked Andrey Rublev were dumped out of the tournament. Djokovic has made headlines for his comments about Kosovo this week but his on-court progress has been relatively serene, reaching the second week without dropping a set. The Serb star was made to work hard by Spanish 29th seed Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, who served for the first set and missed a set point in the second, but won 7-6 (7/4), 7-6 (7/5), 6-2 on Court Philippe Chatrier.

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