Fucsovics reached the third round for the fourth time in Melbourne, where he now has 11 main draw wins, his most in a Grand Slam.Continue reading
Márton Fucsovics lost from a two-set lead in the third round of the Australian Open on Friday. The 78th-ranked player met 15th-ranked Jannik Sinner in the round of 32, against whom he had a 2/1 win record: the Hungarian won at the Australian Open in 2020, the Italian won the tournament in Sofia, and Fucsovics was again the better player at Wimbledon in 2021.
The fourth battle between the players started with two breaks, and then the Hungarian player, who was playing in his sixth Australian Open main draw, took the 21-year-old Italian’s serve at 2:2. This proved to be enough to win the set, and the second set followed similarly, until the 30-year-old Hungarian broke his opponent at 4:4.
Márton Fucsovics was only one set away from his eighth finals, but his Italian rival rallied and from then on was more ruthless. Sinner was hitting with increasing confidence, while Fucsovics was losing control of the rallies and could only win three games in the remaining two hours. The high-turnaround clash lasted 3 hours 45 minutes.
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.
“From the third set on, Jannik started to play without mistakes, changed tactics, served well, and varied his game,” the Hungarian player told the Tennis 4U Facebook page. “I could not do anything against that even though I was physically okay and felt strong. I used to say that if I get beaten like that, then beat me like that, and I come off the court congratulating him. That being said, I am happy to be back and I am happy with my performance in Australia, where I was able to beat a top 20 opponent,” he said.
Featured photo via Friends of Hungary’s Youtube page