Holger Rune can exult. At 20, the Dane obtained his second victory in a row against Novak Djokovic, after that in the final of the Masters 1000 in Paris, in November 2022. Winner in the quarter-finals of the Masters 1000 in Rome in three sets (6-2, 4-6, 6-2), Rune again thwarted the odds to beat the Serb.
Transparent during the first set, in which he multiplied the unforced errors, the Serb was overwhelmed by the power of Rune’s blows and his liveliness. After calling the doctor, Djokovic regained his senses a little in the second set, which he led 5-2 without really reassuring himself. Rune even came back to 5-4, but was stopped by the rain, which gave “Nole” a break.
After a long interruption, the Serb equalized at one set everywhere as soon as the match resumed. But from the start of the third set, the Dane took control of the game with authority, making a double break to escape 4-0, then 5-1. Serving to win the match, he dismissed a break point before concluding (6-2) after 2 h 18 min of play.
The young Dane, one of the new phenomena on the ATP circuit, was lively, precise and regular, under the eyes of his former coach, the Frenchman Patrick Moratoglou. Thanks to this second victory against the reference Djokovic, Rune asserts himself a little more within the ambitious new generation of men’s tennis.
A lackluster record for the Serb
At the height of his 35 years, Djokovic did not appear at his best physical level. Recently returned to competition after a three-week break due to a persistent right elbow problem, the one who won twenty-two Grand Slam titles seemed borrowed.
Before this loss, the Serb had only missed the Rome Open final once in the last eight editions – when he was beaten by Rafael Nadal, in the semi-finals, in 2018. Djokovic has even won the Italian tournament six times, and in particular in 2022. This setback also marks the end of an eighteen-year period in which he or Nadal have always appeared in the final of the Masters 1000.
Novak Djokovic, who will lose the world number one spot to Carlos Alcaraz on Monday May 22, will thus appear in Paris for the Roland-Garros tournament (May 28-June 11) with a flat record of five victories for three defeats in three clay-court tournaments.
Holger Rune, meanwhile, declared in the columns of The Team before the meeting: “When I’m on the court, playing against the best, I feel like I’m 30. I manage to make the right decisions, to be courageous on the important points, I play with more experience. » Wednesday against Djokovic, the brave declarations of the Dane were verified on the court.
The young player is advancing towards Roland-Garros on the back of a series of good results on clay: finalist in the Masters 1000 in Monte Carlo, winner of the Munich tournament and, now, at least semi-finalist for his first appearance in the main board.
