Danish teenager Holger Rune beat favourite Novak Djokovic after being 1 set down by 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 on Sunday. The title at Bercy is Rune’s first Master’s title.
Rune had a great week in Bercy. In his course to the final, he went past four top-10 players Hubert Hurkacz, Andrey Rublev, Carlos Alcaraz and Felix Auger-Aliassime. In the first round, he beat 3 times Grand Slam winner, Stan Wawrinka.
With this win, the Danish youngster will now move into the top 10Â on Monday.
Djokovic was rooting for his 39th Masters’ title, the most by anyone but Rune denied the Serb.
Djokovic addressed that he wasn’t happy that Rune beat him but he was happy for him because he liked Dane’s personality.
“You’ve put in a lot of hours of hard work, it’s paying off for you and your future is bright.” said 20 times Grand Slam winner.
The way the first set was played, it was seeming as if Djoker is on the path to another straight sets victory. He was flawless and pressurised Rune to cause more unforced errors.
However, the match isn’t over until it’s over. The 19-year-old Dane broke Djokovic early and the tables were turned. He had a hold over his nerve now and used his serve well mixing his backhand and enforcing the third set.
In the final set again, Djokovic was quickly leading by 3-1 but the first time Masters’ finalist reacted quickly and broke back him. At 3-3, Djokovic took a physio break as he was having some problems.
At 5-5, Rune broke the Serb and was now serving for the title but it wasn’t going to come that easy. Djokovic showed brilliant resilience and put on a great defence.
The final game went on for 17 long minutes. The crowd was reacting to each point and applauded great rallies.
In the first round, the youngster saved three match points against Stan Wawrinka. He saved six break points and finally when Novak’s shot hit the net, it was a relief for him.
He said that Novak is one of his favourite players and it was a pleasure to play with him in the final.
Rune debuts in the top 10
With the win in Paris, Holger has made sure that he will be top 10 on Monday at number 10. He has also replaced Hubert Hurcacz as the first alternative in ATP Tour Finals, Turin. As he is now the first Alternative in Turin, he has withdrawn from the Next Gen Finals in Milan.
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