The soon-to-be ‘Prince of Tennis’ has fallen to an unexpected person.
Carlos Alcaras, who foreshadowed the next emperor of tennis following Nadal, confirmed his ranking at the men’s professional tennis (ATP먹튀검증) tour BNL Italy International (Rome Masters), which is being held in Rome, Italy.
However, the prediction of his ranking as No. 1 was dispelled, and he was eliminated in the third round of singles. It was a 0-2 (3-6, 6-7 <4-7>) defeat to Fabian Marozan (Hungary), who was ranked 135th.
This was the fourth match in the past 10 years in which a player ranked 1st or 2nd in the rankings lost to a player outside the top 100.
It is a record following Nick Kiros (Wimbledon, vs Rafael Nadal) in 2014, Denis Shapovalov (Canada Open, vs Rafael Nadal) in 2017, and Tim Van Lizdoven (Libema Open, vs Danil Medvedev) in 2017.
Even for Marozanne, this tournament was his first match on the ATP Tour.
In an interview after the game, Marozhan said, “I couldn’t even imagine it. I was so happy” and said, “I slept well, the fans, the weather, and the coat were all perfect” as factors for the victory.
Despite the disappointment, Alkaraz confirmed his ranking as No. 1. At Roland Garros (French Open), can he wash away the pain of the shock defeat and prove his dignity as the No. 1 ranking?