Fabian Marozsan recalls first meeting against 16-year old Jannik Sinner ahead of Halle clash - "It's not going to be easy"

Thursday, 20 June 2024 at 06:30

Although Fabio Marozsan will be facing Jannik Sinner on the ATP Tour for the first time, the duo met six years ago at an ITF event. The Hungarian recalled their showdown, as he prepares to take on the World No.1 in the second round at the 2024 Halle Open.

In January 2018, a 16-year old Sinner was competing at the qualifying draw for an ITF World Tennis Tour event in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. The Italian was yet to earn a single ATP ranking point, and faced off against an 18-year old Marozsan. The memorable battle ended with the Hungarian scoring a 4-6 6-2 6-1 victory, and both men have not met on the ATP Tour since that match six years ago.

Marozsan looks back on encounter with Sinner

“I remember that I was going to play against an Italian player who was very young and I just saw the last game of his match," said the World No.45. "He played very fast, he was moving into the court and putting a lot of pressure on the opponent and I said, ‘Okay, it's not going to be easy. But he's still young, and maybe I have a chance to win against him’.
“That was maybe my first or second year of the ITFs. I just started the Futures tournaments and I was still still a young player, but he was much younger than me. But he was very, very talented. He is moving really fast and well. He is very smart on the court and huge forehand, good backhand also. He has the good feeling with the balls and he's a good guy so let's see. I just want to enjoy and maybe use my chances if I have some.”

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Furthermore, Marozsan acknowledges that Sinner will have the upper hand when it comes to competing on bigger stages. Although the Hungarian is 4-3 against Top 10 players, he has yet to compete regularly on centre courts.

"He feels like he's at home because of the centre court, I never played here before," admitted Marozsan. "It's a little bit difficult and different for me, so let's see. I’ll try to believe in myself and keep my serve and probably I have a bigger chance here on grass to beat him or maybe just win one set. So we will see, I'm looking forward this one and I want to enjoy [it].”

Arthur Ajayi

Growing up in a household where soccer was king, my earliest memories are filled with chants from packed stadiums and the rhythm of a ball being passed across neighborhood streets. But somewhere along the way, the quiet elegance and raw emotion of tennis pulled me in. What began as a curiosity became a lifelong passion; not just for the sport itself, but for the stories it tells: of grit, of heartbreak, of improbable comebacks and human resilience.

As a tennis writer, I bring the observational lens of someone who didn’t grow up in the sport, but fell in love with it as an outsider; a perspective that lets me see both its technical beauty and its emotional depth. Over the years working with TennisUpToDate, I’ve had the privilege of reaching more than 3.5 million readers worldwide, with one of my features ranking among the site’s top three articles.

With a background in storytelling and a creative mind always searching for meaning beyond the scoreboard, I aim to craft narratives that go deeper than results and rankings. Whether it’s a rising star breaking through or a veteran fighting off Father Time, I try to capture the heartbeat behind the headlines.

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