Carlos Alcaraz crashed to a humbling 6-3 7-6(4) defeat by Hungarian qualifier Fabian Marozsan within the third spherical of the Italian Open on Monday as his quest for a 3rd straight title on clay earlier than the French Open resulted in disappointment.

Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz reacts after shedding his third spherical match of the Males’s ATP Rome Open tennis event to Hungary’s Fabian Marozsan, at Foro Italico in Rome(AFP)

The 20-year-old had come into the event on the again of triumphs in Barcelona and Madrid and can change Novak Djokovic because the world primary for high billing at Roland Garros which begins later this month.

However Alcaraz was removed from his finest and obtained off to a shaky begin in his second match in Rome, dropping serve to like within the fourth recreation as world quantity 135 Marozsan constructed an enormous lead and dominated the late exchanges to simply win the opening set.

Marozsan continued to heap stress on Alcaraz and broke for a 4-3 lead after the Spaniard saved three breakpoints earlier within the second set, however the 23-year-old Budapest native instantly let his opponent off the hook earlier than forcing a tiebreak.

Alcaraz raced to a 4-1 lead however Marozsan hit again in excellent model to reel off six factors and hand the world quantity two solely his second defeat on clay in 22 matches this season.

“It’s not easy to say something,” Marozsan mentioned instantly after the most important win of his profession. “I am very completely satisfied, I might have by no means imagined this. It was my dream final night time.

“I mentioned I might attempt to do one thing particular by profitable a couple of video games and possibly a set and I simply beat the (quickly to be) world primary, the perfect participant in our sport now.

“Everything was perfect today.”

It was the primary defeat for Alcaraz to a participant ranked outdoors the world’s high 100 because the 2021 Paris Masters when he fell to Hugo Gaston.

World quantity three Daniil Medvedev earned a hard-fought 3-6 6-1 6-3 win over Spain’s Bernabe Zapata Miralles to achieve the final 16 in Rome for the primary time.

“I’m definitely playing my best tennis on clay right now,” mentioned Medvedev, who reached the quarter-finals in Monte Carlo and the final 16 in Madrid.

“I have never played so well in Rome or in Madrid. I’m feeling great.”

Sixth seed Andrey Rublev additionally superior after defeating Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 7-6(8) 6-3.

Within the ladies’s draw, Elena Rybakina noticed off Marketa Vondrousova 6-3 6-3 to achieve her first claycourt WTA 1000 quarter-final, the place she’s going to face both top-ranked Iga Swiatek, the twice defending champion, or Croatia’s Donna Vekic.

Zheng Qinwen earlier beat Chinese language compatriot Wang Xiyu 6-4 3-6 6-1 to achieve the quarter-finals whereas American Madison Keys misplaced 2-6 6-2 6-4 in opposition to Ukraine’s Anhelina Kalinina.

Stefanos Tsitsipas’s match in opposition to Lorenzo Sonego, in addition to Alexander Zverev’s conflict with J.J. Wolf had been suspended attributable to rain and will probably be concluded on Tuesday.

Tsitsipas had taken the primary set 6-3 in opposition to Sonego whereas Zverev leads 6-4 3-3 in opposition to Wolf.