The back-to-back wins against big-name players have quickly earned Marozsan an unlikely reputation as the tournament’s giant killer, a label he was happy to embrace after another composed performance against one of the world’s most consistent players.
"I was the underdog in these matches and I just wanted to enjoy, do my best and it just happened.
"I really enjoy playing tennis, especially here in Auckland. So I’m looking forward to the next one."
Against Ruud, Marozsan struck early, breaking serve in the opening game of the match and never relinquishing control of the first set. The second set remained on serve until 4-4, when the Hungarian again lifted his level at precisely the right moment.
Ben Shelton moved into the quarterfinals after a hard-fought 7-5, 6-4 win over Francisco Comesana.
The top seed saw off the Argentine in a match that was tighter than the scoreline suggested, particularly early on.
Afterwards, Shelton acknowledged that the performance was a work in progress.
"It wasn’t perfect, I didn’t expect it to be," Shelton said.
Shelton said saving three set points in his opening set of the tournament highlighted just how fine the margins were.
The world No 8 player will hope to maintain his impressive record against Argentines when he meets the red-hot Sebastian Baez in the quarterfinals.
Baez improved to 5-0 on the new season after cruising past Jenson Brooksby 7-5, 6-0.
Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard saved a match point and rode his nerve in tight moments to outlast Cameron Norrie 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-4) last night.
The 22-year-old Frenchman edged the former world No 8 in just over two hours, extending a remarkable personal run of 12 consecutive matches in which Mpetshi Perricard has played at least one tiebreaker.
The contest was disrupted early when play was halted by rain at 1-1 in the opening set, forcing the players off court for more than an hour.
"I had a match point against me at 5-4," Mpetshi Perricard said.
"So I was very close to being out of the tournament. But I did a lot of good things, good work with the mental strength and everything, so I can be happy about myself."
Italian Luciano Darderi and American Spizzirri were also winners yesterday. Darderi beat Chilean Alejandro Tabilo 1-6, 7-5, 6-3 to earn his first win since October, while Spizzirri eliminated Nuno Borges, of Portugal, 7-6 (8-6), 6-4. — Allied Media
