Can Fucsovics break into the Grand Slam conversation?

Márton Fucsovics has produced some intriguing results of late to suggest that he could be capable of producing a run at a Grand Slam and even win a title. The 29-year-old turned professional in 2010, and reached a high point in his career in 2019 when he was ranked 31^st in the world.

Fucsovics’ ranking has declined over the last two years down to 55^th place, but his recent form has been impressive considering the quality of his opponents. He may not be the first thought of a contender when mulling over the odds on tennis for a bet on a Grand Slam, but 2021 could be a year of surprise with doubts over the futures of Roger Federer and Andy Murray. Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal remain potent at the top – the latter is evens for the French Open – but even they have displayed recent chinks in their armour.

Beginning in 2020, Fucsovics began a strong run of form against top-quality opponents. The Nyiregyhaza-born right-hander faced off three-time Grand Slam semi-finalist Grigor Dimitrov at the Cincinnati Masters in the round of 32. Fucsovics was on point to take the first set before the Bulgarian fought back to force a decider. However, Fucsovics was dominant to advance to the next round of the competition, where his run was ended by Filip Krajinovic.

It was not the end of the 29-year-old’s success against Dimitrov, as the two were once again pitted against one another in the US Open in the round of 64. The Bulgarian assumed a strong position by battling his way in front to require only one more set to advance. The comeback from Fucsovics was outstanding as he claimed the final two sets 6-4, 6-1 to beat out his rival for the second time in a row. The win appeared to take a lot out of the Hungarian as he fell to Francis Tiafoe in the next round.

The challenges kept coming for Fucsovics at Roland-Garros in the French Open. Fourth seed and rising star Daniil Medvedev was his opponent in the first round of the competition. Fucsovics produced the best tennis of his career to hammer the Russian, sending him crashing out of the French Open by a 3-1 margin, including a dominant 6-1 result in the fourth set. The 29-year-old enjoyed a good run in the competition and his best Grand Slam performance to reach the round of 16, but Andrey Rublev had the quality on the day, bouncing back with authority to progress to the quarter-finals after Fucsovics claimed the opening set.

What. A. Match. ?

Fucsovics survives multiple match points for Wawrinka in the fifth set tiebreak to triumph in a classic ??

7-5 6-1 4-6 2-6 7-6(11) #AusOpen | #AO2021 pic.twitter.com/rbpJM337nU — #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) February 10, 2021

Fucsovics has maintained his impressive record against the leading lights of the game, overcoming former champion Stanislas Wawrinka in the Australian Open in the second round in a thrilling contest. The 29-year-old rose to the occasion when it mattered the most to win a tie-breaker in the deciding set. He has proven that he can defeat quality opponents in one-off games, but the task at hand for the Hungarian is to show that he can string multiple victories together. If Fucsovics can do that he would well compete for a Grand Slam in 2021 and beyond.