Twelve games and it’s over! Alcaraz is eliminated from the Rome tournament and is not the only favourite to leave

The Italian Open in Rome attracted virtually the entire world’s top players, including Novak Djokovic. But his duel with Carlos Alcaraz will not happen here. The Spaniard is unexpectedly bidding farewell to the tournament and is not alone among the favourites.

Carlos Alcaraz’s victorious campaign at home events in Barcelona and Madrid brought defences of both events on his home soil. However, he bids an unexpectedly early farewell to the tournament in Rome. In his second match, he met Fabian Marozsan of Hungary and the match was unexpected from the start.

The 23-year-old Hungarian tennis player has never broken into the top 100 of the ATP rankings. Against Alcaraz, he got an early break advantage and never let it go. Marozsan showed an incredible attacking game. He scored 30 winning shots and the world number one felt his chance perhaps only at one point in this duel.

Namely at the end of the second set, when Alcaraz was leading 6::5 and 30::15 on his opponent’s serve. The Spaniard wanted to fight to the last ball, but sometimes it just doesn’t work out. Alcaraz fell after sets 3: 6 and 6: 7. The native of southeastern Spain admitted that he did not play his best game and was surprised by the quality of the Hungarian’s shots. The defeated favourite expects Marozsan to be among the top 100 tennis players on the circuit soon.

As for the star Carlito, he needs to switch off for a while after a long run of matches. He has managed to win twelve matches in a row in less than four weeks. The next plans are clear. He will not play in any of the smaller tournaments before the French Open and will prioritize his preparation for the second Grand Slam of the season. In fact, he will be one of the biggest favourites at Roland Garros.

Jannik Sinner

The Italian was at the beginning of the aforementioned 12-match story. He defeated Acaraz in the semi-finals of the ATP Masters in Miami. After that, the Spaniard’s winning streak on clay began. Sinner has also made the transition to clay without any problems and is playing well. The home tournament in Rome was sure to bring more than the eighth round.

There, the home player took on the Argentine Cerundolo. The 24-year-old tennis player prefers clay tournaments, his only triumph on the ATP circuit is on clay and he has played significantly fewer matches on hard surfaces. Especially the winning ones. This year, however, could be a change, as Francisco Cerundolo cut his teeth with a third round at the Australian Open and a progression to the quarter-finals on concrete in Miami.

The first set, full of lost serves, was still in the home player’s hands, who won in a tiebreak. But then his Argentinian opponent stopped producing unforced errors, scored more points after the Italian’s first serve and won both remaining sets by 6::2. Jannik Sinner is done in Rome for the year and is looking towards the French Open. There, like at the other Grand Slams, he has never made it past the quarter-finals.

Andrey Rubljov

The tournament’s number six cannot complain about his clay court part of the season this year. In Monte Carlo he beat, for example, Kachanov, Fritz and also Holger Rune in the final. In the following event in Banja Luka he went undefeated until the final. He was beaten in three sets by Dusan Lajovic of Serbia.

The Madrid Open brought a rematch with Kachanov, where Rubljov lost this time 6::7, 4::6. The rematch against his compatriot was Rubljov’s twelfth match in three weeks. Before the Masters in Rome, the 25-year-old Russian had the opportunity to regain his strength, which he definitely needed in the dress rehearsal for Roland Garros.

At the Italian Open, he got past two players now playing in great form. He defeated both Slovak Molcan and Spaniard Fokina in two sets. The loss of a set came in the eighth round against the German Hanfmann, who had just reached his career best in Rome.

Rubljov lost the first set in a shortened game, but had the upper hand in the second. He dominated with winning forehands and took the second set. However, Hanfmann served well and when Rubljov’s errors from the backhand and the Russian’s mental breakdown after some moments of the match were added, the result was decided. Andrey Rubljov fell after sets 6::7, 6::4, 3::6.

Who is left in the game?

Despite the setbacks of Alcaraz, Rubljov and Sinner, there are enough interesting names left in the game for the Roman triumph. Tournament No. 1 Djokovic and No. 7 Rune will play each other in the quarterfinals. Also in the quarter-finals are number three Medvedev and Norwegian Ruud, seeded number four. Last but not least, Greece’s Tsitsipas, who played the final here last year, also continues in the Italian capital.

Source: ATP, Eurosport