But he couldn’t serve it out – as Marozsan broke back – before the 37-year-old seemed to run out of steam in the tiebreaker.
It was a shame for the tournament – as Monfils is the ultimate entertainer but the world No 65 deserved his victory.
Marozsan will play top seed Ben Shelton in the second round on Wednesday.
It was Monfils’ first appearance in Auckland since 2013, when he captivated the local crowd on his way to the semi-finals.
He was meant to come back on three subsequent occasions – before being forced to withdraw.
All his magic was on display on Monday, from the sliding retrievals, the impossibly flat forehands, the drop volleys and the brilliant anticipation, as he hovered at the net then lured his opponent into a false shot. He also produced the occasional trick shot and found some wicked angles with his serve.
Marozsan had his career breakthrough last year, graduating from the Challenger tour. He enjoyed a spectacular ATP main draw debut, upsetting then world No 2 Carlos Alcaraz in Rome, eventually making the fourth round from qualifying. The 24-year-old later reached the quarters final of the Masters in Shanghai and has risen more than 300 places over the last two seasons.
As so often happens at this level, the first set turned on a single moment. Monfils looked comfortable and confident serving at 3-3, 40-0 when he tried a extravagant jump smash. He flew high – perhaps too high – and it didn’t come off. That seemed to upset his rhythm, as he was astray for the next three points. Monfils couldn’t find a way out, as Marozsan countered everything before forcing the break.
It was uphill from there. Monfils had a brief look at 0-30 in the tenth game but Marozsan composed himself, before a vicious forehand sealed set point, after a deep serve.
The second set was tighter. The quality lifted – especially from Monfils, as he rode the crowd’s applause – but Marozsan was equal to it. The tiebreaker was a thriller. Monfils trailed 5-2, came back to 5-4 with two spectacular winners. Yet another brilliant drop shot from Marozsan forced match point but he blasted his forehand wide. With the Hungarian holding another match point, what followed was audacious from Monfils, with a clean backhand winner down the line, after a risky drop shot. The Frenchman hung tough from there, before a celebratory jig as he levelled the match.
The third set was the best yet. World No 74 Monfils still had time for humour - gesturing about his eyesight after a successful Hawkeye challenge – but got down to business with a break in the fifth game, converting his third break point after a rare double fault from Marozsan.
There was plenty more tension and drama – including the point of the match, with Monfils bowing to the fans after a brilliant winner in the ninth game. But Marozsan broke back at 4-5 down – from the brink – to force another tiebreak.
The Frenchman seemed to run out of steam in the breaker and Marozsan capitalised, converting his fourth match point.
Michael Burgess has been a sports journalist since 2005, winning several national awards and covering Olympics’, Fifa World Cups and America’s Cup campaigns. A football aficionado, Burgess will never forget the noise that greeted Rory Fallon’s goal against Bahrain in Wellington in 2009.
