ATP Masters Paris-Bercy: Holger Rune creates the sensation against Novak Djokovic
Holger Rune crowned a great week at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Paris-Bercy with a sensational final win over Novak Djokovic . The 19-year-old won in three sets after losing the first set.
by Michael Rothschädl
last edit: Nov 06, 2022, 05:48 pm
Holger Rune is the king of Paris-Bercy. The Dane refined a great week at the ATP Masters 1000 event by winning the title. Despite losing the opening set, Rune also defeated the 21-time Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic - and thus celebrated the fifth top 10 success in a row at the hard court classic in Paris. A rare statistic. And one that underlines what the 19-year-old has achieved in the French capital in the past few days.
After the narrow semifinal win over Stefanos Tsitsipas in the semifinals, Novak Djokovic caused the first break early in the final. Djokovic secured the Dane's serve to make it 3-1 in the fourth game, after a little more than 35 minutes the 21-time Grand Slam winner fixed the 6-3 set win, which was safe for a long time. With his own serve, Djokovic didn't allow anything at all for the entire set.
Rune counters in set two
Right at the start of the second period, Djokovic had the chance to strike again early. The Serb found a 0:40 in Rune's first service game, but Rune thwarted with nerves of steel. And then really turned things up: The 19-year-old immediately managed the break himself, which the Dane was able to transport to 3: 0, 4: 2 and 5: 2 despite a number of pressure situations. In the ninth game, too, the Scandinavian remained solid - and sent the match into a deciding set after a 6:3.
Now, however, it was up to Djokovic to turn the tables again. As in the first section, the Serb struck in the fourth game of the third round and got the break to make it 3-1. But Rune immediately countered and broke despite Djokovic being 30-0. It seemed almost impossible to pin down the momentum in one player during this phase. Especially after Rune equalized with his own serve to make it 3:3.
Rune with the Lucky Punch
Novak Djokovic didn't give up as a result, quite the opposite. At the score of 3:4 from Holger Rune's point of view, the Serb increased the pressure on the server, the Dane had to go through the debut, but withstood this pressure situation. And a little later he prepared to strike himself. The 19-year-old found a breakball himself when the score was 5: 5 - and used it ice cold. A heart-stopping final developed: Djokovic found numerous opportunities (6) for the rebreak, Rune thwarted with some great tennis. And in a game lasting more than 16 minutes and his second match point, he made the 3: 6, 6: 3 and 7: 5 success perfect.
Holger Rune crowned an unbelievable week in Paris-Bercy by winning the title. The Dane did this with five top 10 victories in a row. The reward in addition to the first ATP Masters 1000 title in the youngster's young career: entry into the top 10 in the world rankings from Monday. The 19-year-old is the first substitute for the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin.