Alcaraz will look for a master figure in Rome

In the Foro Italico, Carlos Alcaraz (2nd in the ATP ranking), which at the end of Rome will officially return to the top of men’s tennis, will go in the third round with another mission: reach 40 victories at the Masters 1000 level. On the other side, the Hungarian Fabian Marozsan (135th) will try to oppose that. Will he make it?

The man born in Murcia 20 years ago, owner of ten titles on the men’s tour, landed on Roman soil with a balance of 29 games won and 2 lost in 2023 with consecrations in Buenos Aires, Indian Wells, Barcelona and Madrid -defenses of his past campaigns – as the highlight so far.

Making his absolute debut in the Italian tournament, he achieved what he had gone looking for: the No. 1 in the world. In fact, to catch him again, he had to simply take the court in the second round. But, as he has shown, the champion’s mentality does not give up so he more than fulfilled the task, beating his compatriot Albert Ramos-Vinolas 6-4, 6-1. The next challenge will be against the Hungarian Fabian Marozsan.

The native of Budapest, 128th in the world weeks ago, arrived at the tournament without victories at the ATP level with only two games played on the tour. This year the highlight was achieved on the Challenger Tour, winning a title in Antalya and reaching the semifinals in Szekesfehervar at home.

Things turned around this week in Italy as he topped the standings with wins over experienced players like Timofey Skatov and Felipe Meligeni Alves. Then, stretching out his moment, he linked two first-class performances against Corentin Moutet and Jiri Lehecka to receive as a prize for effort the pass to the third round of a Masters 1000 in which he will face the No. 1 in the world.

The match will take place this Monday and can be followed exclusively through the ESPN and Star+ screens.