The journey of Fabian Marozsan, who beat Alcaraz last season

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Fabian Marozsan’s first taste of competitive tennis was a challenging one.

“I think I was nine years old, maybe 10, when I played my first tournament. I lost my first match 0-6, 0-6. And the second one was 0-6, 0-6 It wasn’t a good start,” Marozsan told ATPTour.com. “But I still wanted to continue and practise more. It pushed me on.”

Thankfully the 24-year-old continued and was rewarded on Wednesday when he advanced to the third round at a major for the first time at the Australian Open, defeating 22nd seed Francisco Cerundolo.

Marozsan’s journey to the top began 19 years ago in Budapest, where he would regularly visit the local tennis club with his father, who loved to play. Marozsan would help collect the balls until one day he asked to play.

“I was five years old and I would go down to the practice courts all the time. My father used to play with someone and I was there as a little kid. I told him, I don't want to pick up the balls anymore, I want to play, I want to try everything,” Marozsan said. “And he said, ‘Okay, let's do it. Let's try to play tennis’. From then he showed me everything.

“He taught me the first steps, the forehand, backhand, everything. He was 25 or 26 when he started to play tennis. He was just an amateur. He just started to train me when I was young and he really loved the sport and he was watching all the matches. He still does watch all of them as well as mine. He just tried to give me everything.”

Marozsan, who likes driving cars and nature, has enjoyed a rapid climb in the past two years. He clinched his first ATP Challenger Tour title in 2022, broke the Top 100 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings in May and reached the quarter-finals at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Shanghai in October.

However, his victory against then-World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz in Rome last May stands out above everything. The Hungarian inflicted just a third defeat of the season on the Spaniard at the time.

“It was a huge thing to beat the No. 1 at the time, on a clay, in a Masters, because before the tournament I was very low mentally. I lost a lot of matches on the Challenger Tour,” Marozsan said. “I just went to Rome and started to play in the qualifying. I almost lost in the first round but won and something just changed.

“I started to win the matches. I was very happy to play in the main draw for the first time at an ATP tournament. I played against Moutet in the first round. And it was a good win for me. He was Top 100 and I never had won a match against a Top 100 player, so that was something new for me and gave me a boost.

“When I went to the stadium and played against Alcaraz, it was a huge thing for me and I just wanted to win a few games against him, because I thought I had no chance. He was the No. 1. But everything worked and the win gave me a huge boost.”

_{^{Photo Credit: Corinne Dubreuil/ATP Tour}}
Marozsan is one of two Hungarian men inside the Top 100 alongside 31-year-old Marton Fucsovics. Former players from the eastern European nation include Balazs Taroczy, who won 13 tour-level titles, and Zsuzsa Kormoczy, who lifted the women’s singles trophy at Roland Garros in 1958.

Marozsan is hoping his recent rise will help grow the sport in Hungary today.

“In Hungary, the win [against Alcaraz] was a huge thing,” Marozsan said. “I remember on the news it being shown and people messaging me. More people started to play tennis and follow the sport after. It's very important for me to keep the level and play at the highest level to help promote the sport. I am also getting recognised more now, so that is different but I get used to it.”

When Marozsan steps onto court to face 12th seed Taylor Fritz on Friday, he will aim to become the second Hungarian man to reach the fourth round in Melbourne this century, joining Fucsovics (2018, 2020).

The World No. 67 is playing in just his third major and is relishing the experience.

“I'm very happy being here. I just started to play at the Grand Slams last year. I'm kind of the new guy here. I'm just very happy to beat a seeded player in Melbourne,” Marozsan said. “Fritz is a great player but I will try to do my best and we will see how it goes.”