Hong Kong, Jan 2 (NationPress) In a shocking development, top seed and reigning champion Andrey Rublev of Russia endured a surprising loss to Hungary's Fabian Marozsan during the second round of the ATP Hong Kong Open on Thursday. The world No. 8 succumbed to the 58th-ranked Marozsan with a scoreline of 5-7, 6-3, 3-6 after a match that spanned one hour and 58 minutes at Victoria Park.
Marozsan is set to meet China's Shang Juncheng in the quarterfinals, who advanced smoothly by defeating the seventh seed Pedro Martinez of Spain with a score of 6-3, 6-1.
In other matches of the day, second seed Lorenzo Musetti from Italy overcame qualifier Gabriel Diallo of Canada, while Spain's Jaume Munar surprisingly defeated fifth seed Nuno Borges of Portugal with scores of 6-3, 7-5, as reported by Xinhua.
The year 2024 had started positively for Rublev, as he secured his first title of the season in Hong Kong, where he defeated Liam Broady, Arthur Fils, Shang Juncheng, and Emil Ruusuvuori.
At the Australian Open, Rublev reached the quarterfinals before falling to fourth seed and eventual champion Jannik Sinner. During his journey to the quarterfinals in Melbourne, Rublev achieved his 300th win by defeating tenth seed Alex de Minaur after being down 2–1 and winning in five sets.
In Dubai, he was seeded second and reached the semifinals but was defaulted for verbally abusing a line judge. However, the ATP later reinstated Rublev's ranking points and prize money from the tournament.
In 2024, Rublev clinched his second Masters 1000 title in Madrid, becoming the only player to triumph in both singles and doubles at the event. He reached his sixth Masters 1000 final by defeating Matteo Arnaldi in straight sets.
Unlike the previous year, Rublev's campaign in Hong Kong has come to an early end, prompting him to refocus for the upcoming events leading to the Australian Open.
