A day after "lucky loser" Luca Nardi stunned world No.1 Novak Djokovic in the third round, Alcaraz advanced easily over the Hungarian who ousted him from the Italian Open in May.
Marozsan was a qualifier and the world No.135 when he upset the Spaniard — then on the verge of taking the top spot in the rankings — in straight sets in Rome.
Alcaraz, bidding to become the first player to defend the title since Novak Djokovic in 2016, dropped the first set in his opening match this year but has lost just 12 games in the other six sets.
Raise the racket, Carlitos 🙌— ATP Tour (@atptour) This time @carlosalcaraz successfully navigates Fabian Marozsan 6-3 6-3, to record his 50th ATP Masters 1000 win and book his Indian Wells quarter-final spot. @BNPPARIBASOPEN | #TennisParadise pic.twitter.com/1NLScM1TpEMarch 12, 2024
"Honestly, I was nervous before the match. I'm not going to lie," Alcaraz said.
"Playing against someone that beat you ... Today I knew what I had to do."
The Wimbledon champion quickly went about taking his revenge, winning four games in a row from 3-2 down to take the first set.
A solitary break for 4-2 in the second proved enough to wrap up the match and book a clash with Alexander Zverev or Australia's Alex de Minaur.
Stefanos Tsitsipas wasn't so lucky, losing to Jiri Lehecka.
Tsitsipas, the 11th seed from Greece, slipped to a 6-2 6-4 defeat to the 32nd-ranked Czech.
The 22-year-old piled up 25 winners and will next face either third-seeded Jannik Sinner or big-serving American Ben Shelton.
With PA.
