Hong Kong, Jan 2 Top seed and defending champion Andrey Rublev of Russia suffered a surprising defeat to Hungary's Fabian Marozsan in the second round of the ATP Hong Kong Open on Thursday. The world No. 8 fell to 58th-ranked Marozsan 5-7, 6-3, 3-6 after a match that lasted one hour and 58 minutes at Victoria Park.
Marozsan will face China's Shang Juncheng in the quarterfinals. 19-year-old Shang advanced comfortably, defeating seventh seed Pedro Martinez of Spain 6-3, 6-1.
In the day's other action, second seed Lorenzo Musetti of Italy triumphed over qualifier Gabriel Diallo of Canada, while Spain's Jaume Munar upset fifth seed Nuno Borges of Portugal 6-3, 7-5, reports Xinhua.
The year 2024 was a good one for Rublev as he won his first title of the season in Hong Kong, defeating Liam Broady, Arthur Fils, Shang Juncheng, and Emil Ruusuvuori in the process.
At the Australian Open, Rublev reached the quarterfinals, before losing to fourth seed and eventual champion Jannik Sinner. En route to the quarterfinal in Melbourne, Rublev recorded his 300th win, defeating tenth seed Alex de Minaur from 2–1 down and winning in five sets.
Seeded second in Dubai and reached the semifinals before being defaulted for verbally abusing a line judge. However, the ATP later restored Rublev's ranking points and prize money from the tournament.
In 2024, Rublev won his second Masters 1000 title in Madrid, becoming the only man to win in both singles and doubles in the event. He reached his sixth Masters 1000 final defeating Matteo Arnaldi in straight sets.
But unlike last year, Rublev's campaign in Hong Kong ended early and he will now try to pick up things in the build-up events for the Australian Open.
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