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Shanghai Masters sensation Fabian Marozsan says Roger Federer is "one of the best players" ever but highlights that his "tennis hero" is Rafael Nadal. Marozsan, 24, is competing in his second Masters tournament this week in Shanghai.
On Tuesday, world No 91 Marozsan stunned three-time Grand Slam finalist Casper Ruud 7-6 (3) 3-6 6-4 to reach the Shanghai quarterfinal. "I don't have Hungarians, or we don't have so many players at home, unfortunately. But, yeah, I think one of the best players in the world is, of course, it's Roger, but my hero is Nadal, Rafa Nadal," Marozsan said after reaching his first Masters quarterfinal, via Sportskeeda.
Marozsan reveals Nadal is his 'hero' after beating Ruud
After Ruud won the second set, it appeared that the momentum was on Norwegian's side and that he would likely go on to complete a comeback win.
But then, Marozsan impressively bounced back. After earning the first break of the third set in the ninth game for a 5-4 lead, Marozsan saved two break points in the following game before converting his second match point to complete a three-set win over Ruud. "I'm just really happy to be playing today against Casper.
He's one of the top-seeded players here. He has a good chance to be winning almost every tournament. I'm just really happy to play against him in this tournament here in Shanghai. Yeah, it's the best result for me, I mean, to play in the last eight in a Masters tournament," Marozsan said.
After one of the biggest wins of his career, 24-year-old Marozsan reflected on his tennis journey. "I mean, I was just five years old when I just started to play tennis. I learned everything from my father. He plays tennis before, and now he's just supporting me from home.
He's watching all the matches that I'm playing. So, yeah, I was really young when I started to play and it was my first sport that I just try when I was young. So it was love for the first, I don't know, how do you say, the first [sight]," Marozsan said.