Holger Rune has become the latest high-profile casualty at the Miami Open after suffering a comprehensive straight sets loss to Hungary’s Fabian Marozsan.
The sixth seed failed to come up with any answers against Marozsan throughout his 6-1, 6-1, defeat in the second round. Rune struggled to tame his opponent who produced a stunning 24 winners against only seven unforced errors. The 60-minute thrashing is Rune’s quickest loss on the ATP Tour as a top 10 player.
Shedding some light on his lacklustre performance, the 20-year-old later issued a statement to Danish media via the ATP confirming that he was unwell and contemplated pulling out of the match. He opted not to speak directly with reporters after his match due to illness.
“I got sick the night before the match and considered withdrawing from the tournament, but when I felt better after the warm-up, I decided to try, but unfortunately I had no energy in my body,” TV2.dk quoted Rune as saying.
Coming into Miami, Rune had reached the quarter-finals or better at three out of his four most recent tournaments played. His focus will now switch to the clay with his next scheduled tournament expected to be the Monte Carlo Masters.
As for Marozsan, it is the third time in his career that the Hungarian has beaten a top 10 player. He has also beaten Carlos Alcaraz and Casper Ruud with both of those victories also occurring at Masters 1000 events.
“It is a great feeling to play at the highest level,” he said via atptour.com. “I try to play my best tennis and today against a Top 10 player and I am enjoying my time here. I try to play my best tennis.”
Marozsan wil next take on Australia’s Alexi Popyrin who beat 26th seed Jiri Lehecka 6-4, 6-4. The world No.45 is playing in his first tournament since February after being sidelined from action in recent weeks due to an abdominal injury.
In other matches, Ben Shelton produced an emphatic service display during his 6-3, 6-4, win over Martín Landaluce. The American won 29 out of 35 points behind his first serve and blasted 22 winners. One of his serves was recorded at a speed of 148 mph.
“I thought I was pretty complete today,” said Shelton. “I thought I did a great job backing up my serve and usually when I have a lot of confidence and holding easily, the rest of my game continues to flow, and my confidence just grows. I think that helps me a lot and puts a lot of pressure on the other guy.”
Shelton will next play Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti.
