In the end, Fucsovics was unable to repeat his best ever performance in Melbourne, when he played against Roger Federer in the eighth finals in 2018 and 2020.Continue reading
Hungarian tennis player Fábián Marozsán lost in two sets to Ugo Humbert in the final match of the Hungary-France Davis Cup tennis qualifier in Tatabánya, Hungary on Saturday, resulting in the French team advancing to the final group stage with a 3-2 aggregate score.
The Frenchman, 86th in the world ranking, was the clear favorite in the first meeting between the two players, having beaten Márton Fucsovics on Friday. Humbert has already ranked 25th earlier in the world ranking, collected three ATP trophies, and was a quarter-finalist at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.
The 23-year-old Hungarian, Fábián Marozsán, was also preparing for his second singles match in the Davis Cup, having lost his first to Croatia’s Nino Serdarusic in the 2021 final in Turin. His confidence, however, may have been boosted by his bravura victory over the French duo two hours earlier with Máté Valkusz at his side.
The match started with Humbert taking a 2-0 lead after ten minutes, only to be overtaken by the 161st-ranked player from Budapest. The joy of the home crowd did not last long: at 3:4 another Humbert break followed, and then he served out the 27-minute set.
Marozsán Fábián 6:3 6:3-ra kikapott Ugo Humbert ellen, a francia Davis-kupa válogatott 3-2-re nyert és továbbjutott. pic.twitter.com/FAto9hQ5JQ
— HUNtennis (@HUNgarianTENNIS) February 4, 2023
The second set also started 0:2, and at 2:3 Marozsán had the ball to break back, but the Frenchman was helped by his serve at over 200 km/h. Soon the scoreboard showed 2:5 and from there Marozsán could only bring one more game. The match lasted 1 hour 5 minutes, and the final result altogether was Hungary-France 2-3.
This level is different to where I play, I have to get used to the pace, but I want to rise to the challenge. I am glad I had some nice moments,”
said Marozsán after the game.
The French winners will continue their campaign in the 16-team group stage of the final in September, while the Hungarians will compete in World Group II in September.
On a positive note, all three Hungarians in the top 200 have improved their positions in the men’s world rankings. Márton Fucsovics, Fábián Marozsán and Zsombor Piros all played in the Davis Cup last week, and all three have moved up: Fucsovics is currently ranked 69th, Marozsán 160th and Piros 181st.
Novak Djokovic, who won his 22nd career Grand Slam at the Australian Open, remains in the lead: the 35-year-old Serbian enters his 375th week at the top of the ATP rankings, improving his own record. Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz is second and Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas third.
Featured photo via MTI/Bodnár Boglárka