He’s blond, boyish-faced, and bears some resemblance to the gunboat Erling Haaland, another Highland phenomenon. He’s fearless, handles the backhand with ease, and drives and drives with the same determination that City’s slugger tears through defenses and pierces nets. He’s an upstart watched from the stands by his mother’s watchful eye, but Holger Rune already knows how to handle it on his own. Wow if you know. The French audience nods, witnessing an outburst. He started the course as 103rd in the world and finished it among the ten strongest. Another talent breaks down the door, the revolution continues.
This year 2022, which had already marked a resounding turning point with the spectacular rise of Carlos Alcaraz, underlines the generation change. In Paris-Bercy, young Rune, also 19 years old, defies everything and rises to catch his first Masters 1000 and send a message: ladies and gentlemen, here I am. The Nordic defeats Novak Djokovic in the final (3-6, 6-3 and 7-5, after 2h 32m), smashing multiple barriers and breaking straight into the world top-10, finishing 103rd earlier in the year last September, the date of the only precedent between the two until that Paris reunion, was the 145th and turned out to be an attractive promise. Today Rune is a reality.
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The Dane celebrates being the first tennis player in his country to reach such a high level, rounding off a monumental week. He got rid of veteran Stan Wawrinka, the three-time Grand Slam champion, ahead of the clash with Nole, then successively ceded four members of the circuit’s finest work: Hubert Hukacz (10th), Andrei Rublev (9th), Carlos Alcaraz ( 1 ) and Felix-Augger-Aliassime (8th). As a draw, a win in style against Djokovic that makes him the youngest winner of the Bercy tournament since Boris Becker won it at the age of 18 in the 1986 edition; Rune, in turn, is the first player since 1973 (when the ATP ranking was born) to defeat five top-10 rivals in the same tournament.
So there are always new winds in men’s tennis, which is gradually shaping a new era. With Alcaraz currently in charge, one must not lose sight of Rune, finalist in the last four tournaments and winner in two of them: Stockholm and Bercy, the latter being big words. Having signaled that spring when he triumphed at the Munich Arena and then advanced to the quarter-finals at Roland Garros, he is now deservedly in the limelight. Fantastic week and great win against Djokovic who was delighted with a good gift (new titles in Tel Aviv and Astana) and met with the impressive reaction from the Nordics.
the revolution goes on
Rune came like a shot, combining victories and sensations without stopping, but this time he entered the Palais Omnisports de Bercy track and made a flan, stiff and tense, too impressed. Opposite was the champion he was photographed with a few years ago, he was a kid then and Djokovic was already a big man, almost thirty years old. On the Bercy afternoon, time came and went and that boy who dreamed of one day being like Nole found himself with the immense stamp of the Serb, which was a marvel in that past and even better in this present of generational change .
The Dane was weighed down by the Serb’s (35-year-old) mystique throughout the first set. He watered down and seemed to have broken the connection, but Nole missed an opportunity to open a gap in the second, and in the third, already fully face-to-face, he couldn’t hold back his opponent’s boisterous proposal. He had to put a lot of courage into Rune, who survived the rush after a double break and managed to chip six break options for the Balkans. He then gave away the first match point thanks to a double fault, but persevered and won. In doing so, he avoided the seventh laurel of the champion of 21 sizes and presented himself in a big way worldwide.
It’s rune added to revolution. New times are dawning and he – the first reserve player for the Masters Cup starting next Sunday in Turin – joins the big coup of the up-and-coming. The future is here. To find the last time two tennis players this young were in the top 10, you have to go back to May 2007; then Djokovic himself and Andy Murray, both 19 years old, rebelled. Both are still in the fight, but times are changing. Nele can confirm that.
“WINNING HERE IS A GOOD STEP BUT I HAVE BIGGER DREAMS”
AC | Madrid
Rune was advised for three weeks by Patrick Mouratoglou, the Frenchman who managed Serena Williams and currently sits on the bench from Simona Halep. However, the former number one has been banned for doping (EPO in pills) and the coach has allied himself with the Dane, although he has not distanced himself from the Romanian.
“To beat Novak you have to have something special or extra and Holger definitely has it,” the coach acknowledged, while Djokovic praised his “fighting spirit”. After all, thanks to his faith and the support of the crowd, who grabbed his pocket in a fundamental maneuver, the Nordic managed to turn the duel around.
“It’s kind of a little dream come true, but I have bigger dreams,” Rune warned. “The fact of winning these types of games against someone like Novak is a good step along the way,” continued the winner, who pointed to his “courage” as a key factor in deciding the final in his favour.
Rune is also informed that Alcaraz rules. Asked about them, Djokovic said: “They are very complete at their age, there is not much difference. Physically they are similar and work very hard; They defend very well and have a lot of dedication. Rune has better backhand and Alcaraz has better forehand but in general all their shots are very good.”
The Serb will now travel to Turin to seal the year with another trophy in his hands. It would be the fifth after Rome, Wimbledon, Tel Aviv and Astana. “It’s no secret that at this point in my career, every tournament I play matters. I will try to win it. I feel very good and I think I’m playing very good tennis,” he said.
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