‘I couldn’t follow his level’ – Alcaraz admits surprise at Marozsan upset

Carlos Alcaraz may be returning to the top of the rankings next week and heading into Roland-Garros as top seed – but that doesn’t preclude the possibility of an utter shock.

That’s what he experienced in Rome as Hungarian qualifier Fabian Marozsan knocked him out in straight sets 6-3, 7-6 (4).

And he admitted afterwards that he had known little about his opponent, who took him somewhat by surprise.

“I didn’t watch too much about him before the match. I just follow a lot of results about him in the challengers and stuff. He did well. He was doing well before here.

“Of course, he surprise me a lot. I mean, his level was really, really high. Yeah, I’m sure he’s going to break the top 100 very, very soon. It was surprising for me.”

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With the second set going to a tiebreak, observers may have expected Alcaraz to be able to force a decider, but the 20-year-old noted that he simply was not good enough.

“I didn’t play really, really well obviously. But, of course, he plays his match, he plays at a really high level. I couldn’t follow his level. I mean, he was at the same level the whole match. That is very, very difficult.

“Yeah, I try to fight until the last ball, but it wasn’t enough. Of course, in the second set, it was close. I had my chances at 6-5, 15-30. I would say I could win that set, except little things happen.

“Of course, he deserves the win. If he plays at that level, he’s going to surprise more than one.”

Alcaraz: I’ve been playing so much

After titles in Barcelona and Madrid, the Spaniard will now rest ahead of a return to the practice courts before Roland-Garros, and hopes that might be the best preparation for a Grand Slam at which he is desperate to do well.

“I really need some days to reset my mind a little bit, to being fresh for Roland Garros.

“Of course, to practise, that’s not secret. You have to practise. If you want to do a good result in Paris, if I want to go to Paris in a good shape, I have to practise, to be better. I couldn’t practise more than three, four days in a row. I’ve been playing so much.

“It’s going to be really helpful for me to have days at home practising and getting ready [for] Roland Garros.”

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