Alcaraz needs to be wary of Mauroran once again returning the favor to him

In the first round of the 2025 French Open, the two favorites for the men's singles title, Spanish all-round fighter Alcaraz and Italian newcomer Wang Sinner, both beat their opponents in three sets. Tomorrow night, defending champions Alcaraz will face Hungary's Maurorin in the second round, and Alcaraz will need to be wary of Mauroran returning the favor once again.

Born in October 1999, Mao Luoran turned professional tennis in 2017 and was originally unknown, but he became famous by defeating the instant world No. 1 Alcaraz in the third round of the 2023 Rome Masters.

At that time, Alcaraz, the world No. 2 who had just successfully defended his title at the Madrid Masters, played back-to-back in the Rome Masters. After a first-round bye, Alcaraz defeated fellow Spaniard big brother Ramos in the second round to return to the world No. 1 in the world rankings and lock up the No. 1 seed at the 2023 French Open. Unexpectedly, in the third round, Mao Luoran jumped out and unexpectedly defeated Alcaraz with a score of 6:3 7:6 in two sets, pouring cold water on Alcaraz, who is ranked No. 1 in the world at the moment.

The surprise two-set defeat of instant world No. 1 Alcaraz made Mauroran himself incredulous. Mao Luoran said frankly after the game: "I had a dream of winning last night, and now my dream has come true." In fact, before the game, I just want to be able to win a few more rounds and not lose too ugly. I didn't expect my skills and tactics to work in this game, how to fight. ”

Alcaraz was also very surprised by the high level that Mauroran showed in this match: "He always hit the ball inside the baseline and played aggressively, which made me feel very awkward. ”

The ATP's official website was even more poignant about the match: "Mauroran beat Alcaraz the way he did. He combined a heavy, powerful shot from the baseline with a well-timed burst ball in front of the net, keeping Alcaraz busy guessing. The quality of Mauroran's batting from the baseline gave Alcaraz few chances to gain control of the court. His ability to burst the ball is also on par with Alcaraz's. ”

Although there are occasional highlight-reel performances against the top 10 players in the world, Mao Luoran's overall career record is average, and the world ranking hovers around 50. Reaching the quarterfinals of the Masters twice (Shanghai 2023 and Miami 2024) and the third round of a Grand Slam twice (Australian Open 2024 and 2025) is the best record of Mao Luoran's career. On May 6, 2024, Mauroran reached a career-high world ranking of No. 36 and is currently ranked No. 56 in the world.

In this year's clay season, Mao Luoran's performance was not satisfactory. Both the Monte Carlo Masters and the Madrid Masters reached the first round, with the ATP 500 Munich reaching the semi-finals and the Rome Masters reaching the third round. Tomorrow night, in the second round of the French Open, Mauroran will challenge Alcaraz for the third time in his career. The previous two meetings were won one and lost one, winning in the third round of the 2023 Rome Masters (6:3 7:6) and losing in the fourth round of the 2024 Indian Wells Masters (3:6 3:6).

Tomorrow night, in the second round of the 2025 French Open, defending champion Alcaraz will need to be careful and be wary of Mauroran once again returning the favor with him.

(Source: Tennis Home Author: Colorful Bean Powder)