Italian Open Round 3 Update: Alcaraz Stunned, Djokovic and Medvedev Advance

The third round at the Italian Open is nearing completion, and the shock of the round was the demise of Carlos Alcaraz at the hands of the world number 135, Fabian Marozsan.

Marozsan came through qualifying to enter the main drawn, and he outplayed Alcaraz by taking his forehand super early and deceiving him with his drop shot.

Top seed Novak Djokovic recovered from a second-set wobble to remove Grigor Dimitrov in three sets. While third seed Daniil Medvedev recovered from a set down, adding 20km/h to his average forehand speed in the 2nd set to defeat Bernabe Zapata Miralles, also in three.

You can see the complete list of results from the third round below. Three matches are yet to be completed due to rain delays and will be added when the results are in tomorrow.

Round of 32 Italian Open 2023 Results

Winner
Loser
Scoreline

Novak Djokovic (1)
Grigor Dimitrov (26)
6-3 4-6 6-1

Fabian Marozsan (Q)
Carlos Alcaraz (2)
6-3 7-6(4)

Daniil Medvedev (3)
Bernabe Zapata Miralles (31)
3-6 6-1 6-3

Casper Ruud (4)
Alexander Bublik
6-1 4-6 7-6(0)

Stefanos Tsitsipas (5)
Lorenzo Songego
6-4 7-6(3)

Andrey Rublev (6)
Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (27)
7-6(8) 6-3

Holger Rune (7)
Fabio Fognini (WC)
6-4 6-2

Jannik Sinner (8)
Alexander Shevchenko (LL)
6-3 6-7(4) 6-2

Cameron Norrie (13)
Marton Fucsovics
6-2 7-6(4)

Borna Coric (15)
Roberto Carballes Baena
7-6(3) 6-1

Lorenzo Musetti (18)
Frances Tiafoe
5-7 6-4 6-3

Alexander Zverev (19)
J.J. Wolf
6-4 7-5

Francisco Cerundolo (24)
Gregoire Barrere
6-7(0) 6-2 6-2

Laslo Djere
Cristian Garin
6-3 2-1 (RET)

Yannick Hanfmann (Q)
Marco Cecchinato
6-4 4-6 6-3

Alexei Popyrin (Q)
Roman Safiullin (Q)
7-5 7-5

Djokovic Moves Into Round 4

Novak Djokovic moved into the last sixteen with an improved performance over Grigor Dimitrov. The Serb led by a set and a 4-2 lead, but Dimitrov reeled off four games in a row to nab the second.

However, Djokovic regrouped quickly to run away with the third set with some solid baseline play that left Dimitrov found wanting as he recorded a 6-3, 4-6, 6-1 victory.

I was very solid. I could have won in straight sets; I was a set and 4-2 up and had a pretty decent forehand in the middle of the court at Deuce on his serve and missed that. He held his serve well, we had new balls the next game, I did a double fault, the crowd got into it and got behind him, and of course, the energy of the place and the match changed. I dropped my level a bit, but luckily I managed to find it right away in the first game [of the third set], made that crucial break and shifted the momentum to my side, so I’m pleased with the way I closed out the match. Djokovic on his win over Dimitrov

Holger Rune Ends Fognini’s Run

Fabio Fognini had delighted the home crowd with wins over Andy Murray and Miomir Kecmanovic, but his run ended at the hands of Holger Rune, with the Dane progressing 6-4, 6-2 in 77 minutes.

Rune was too solid for Fognini, and the Italian doesn’t have the firepower on serve to bag himself enough free points against a decent returner like Rune.

Ruud Rallies Past Bublik

Casper Ruud hasn’t had the most remarkable season so far, but Rome has always been a happy hunting ground for him, and he played another solid match in the Italian capital to defeat Alexander Bublik 6-1, 4-6, 7-6(0).

Ruud and Bublik come from very different schools of thought regarding tennis. Although the Kazakh played some high-quality tennis throughout the two hours and five minutes, Ruud’s steady play from the baseline won the day rather than Bublik’s crowd-pleasing variation.

It’s been a very good tournament for me in my career. I’ve reached the semis here twice, and twice I lost to Novak in the semi-finals, so it sort of shows that I’ve been beating a lot of good players up until facing one of the best ever, I have a lot of good memories from here and the Italian fans are incredible, even though today they were maybe cheering even more for Bublik. It’s an incredible experience playing out here on this court, Pietrangeli. It’s a very special court, and you can see it’s full of almost every match, no matter who plays, so it was really fun, and it gives me good vibes being here in Rome. Ruud on why he likes playing in Rome.

Fabian Marozsan’s Fells Favored Alcaraz

Few will have heard of Fabian Marozsan until today, but he’s now the name on everyone’s lips after playing a perfect match to take out Carlos Alcaraz 6-3, 7-6(4).

The Hungarian came through qualifying to make the third round, which was already impressive in itself. Still, he took things to another level today, beating one of the season’s form players with a great display of early hitting and using the drop shot to cause Alcaraz all sorts of problems.

It’s a big surprise but a good win for tennis and a reality check as the hype around Alcaraz has become unbearable. To prove the point, it’s now been described as the “greatest upset in ATP history”.  😁

It’s not easy to say something; I’m very happy. I couldn’t imagine this. It was my dream last night. Now it’s true, I am very, very happy about this… I just tried to do something special, maybe winning a few games, a set, or something like this, and now I just beat the World No. 2. Everything was perfect today. The crowd, the weather, the court. I’m just happy I’m doing my job. I think in the tie-break, it was 1/4, and I won six points in a row. It’s amazing; I don’t know what happened during the points; I just tried to hit back every ball and do my best. I tried to find out how to win points against him in that tough situation, and it just happened. I don’t know what to say. Marozsan on his win over Alcaraz.

Other Matches of Note

Rublev Finishes Fokina: Andrey Rublev continued his fine form on the clay, with a 7-6(8), 6-3 over Alejandro Fokina. A challenging first set where the Russian battled from 3/6 in the tie-break and saved two break points early in the second.
Hanfmann Hangs Tough: The German qualifier defeated Italian Marco Cecchinato 6-4, 4-6, 6-3—an awe-inspiring run for the German.
Sinner Slides Past Shevchenko: A hard-fought 6-3, 6-7 (4), 6-2 for the Italian against the lucky loser. 

Italian Open 2023 Round of 16 Matches

Were you surprised to see Alcaraz fumble in the third round? Let me know in the comments.