Tennis Prose




Nov/22

6

Rune Conquers Paris And Djokovic

By Scoop Malinowski

In a stunning display of sensational tennis, Holger Rune announced himself as a mighty force to be reckoned with for many years to come on the ATP World Tour.

Certain matches are so important and impacting that they are a portent of the future – think Federer vs Sampras 1 at Wimbledon 2001, Djokovic first win vs Federer at Canadian Open final 2007, Nadal vs Federer 1 at Miami Open 2004 – and today’s astonishing performance by the 19 year old Rune may end up being a game changer in the sport.

Rune has practiced with Djokovic since he was fourteen and he used all that invaluable experience today along with his natural talent, guts and “dare to be great” mindset to defeat the 35 year old 21-time Grand Slam winner 36 63 75.

This clash of young and veteran titans was a fierce struggle. Rune lost the first set and was down love-40 in his service game in the first game of the second set. He held but then fell into a 1-3 hole. Rune managed to win the second set and then seized the lead by breaking Djokovic for 6-5 in the third set. Djokovic, attempting to win his 39th Masters 1000 title, had six break points in that game but finally was thwarted by the former ITF junior no. 1 from Denmark.

It was a spectacular level of tennis from a player who is completing his first full-time year on the ATP World Tour. Rune has now played in four ATP finals in a row and the win today will advance his ranking eight notches to no. 10. Rune has won 19 of 21 matches including five top ten wins this week in Paris – vs Alcaraz, Rublev, Hurkacz, Felix and today Djokovic.

These are phenomenal results for anyone, especially a player who only played his first Grand Slam match a year ago at 2021 US Open, first round vs Djokovic, night match on Ashe Stadium, won by Novak 61 67 62 61.

Rune once declared that one of his goals was to break Nadal’s Roland Garros record of 14 titles. Such bold confidence was considered unrealistic but based on what Rune showed this month and especially this week, it’s understandable why this Babolat wielding marvel of the court has the self belief to target even the most seemingly impossible goals.

· · · · · ·

6 comments

  • Cory · November 7, 2022 at 8:50 am

    I was not a big believer in Rune but have been proven wrong this year. Djokovic really needed those points and was denied.

  • Scoop Malinowski · November 7, 2022 at 9:06 am

    Cory, did you see him vs Djokovic at US Open last year night match? He showed right then he was something else, he pushed Novak to his limits – and that was his very first Grand Slam match. He had a bad loss to Ruud at French Open and a bad reaction losing that match which annoyed Ruud and a lot of people but he’s bounced back from that mistake. Rune’s sudden surge correlates with he united with Patrick Mouratoglou who must be credited to some degree for this amazing Rune escalation.

  • Steve · November 7, 2022 at 9:51 am

    How many slams will the Danish Lleyton Hewitt win???

  • Scoop Malinowski · November 7, 2022 at 9:58 am

    Steve as many as he wants. Sky is the limit. When he gets the first one he will be only the second ATP player to win a Grand Slam while wearing a backwards cap (Hewitt at US Open). Rune did a very good Biofile too https://www.tennis-prose.com/articles/biofile-holger-rune-interview/?fbclid=IwAR07ZxdVFDM41QFK_v0bDeGejqwn00YX1Kuj7_WFdAQC3gEQ4qtp1x8t4lA

  • Cory · November 7, 2022 at 10:44 pm

    Scoop, side note, Donald Young is so terrible. He’s gotta be labeled officially done. He will never again see the top 100. Lost today to a guy who played his first Challenger ever, McCormick (guy has some firepower)… Young just finds ways to lose. Was up a break in the 3rd set, gives it away, and loses 5-7, the absolute mark of a choker. So terrible. How is it possible that none of the involved consider the fact that having your parents coach you is a bad move. I don’t think his parents even play tennis either. His career has been all hat and no cattle.

  • Scoop Malinowski · November 8, 2022 at 7:10 am

    Cory, Young is a punching bag now for ham and eggers and journeymen. Have to give him credit for sustaining belief and not heading off to Pickleball yet. I think a lot of Americans are going to step over to Pickleball, like Isner, Rubin, Querrey, Johnson. Isner just invested in Pickleball, Querrey is training to join the Pickleball tour next year. I just saw some photos of the recent Fort Worth Texas PPA tournament and it had far more life, energy and excitement than the wta tournament in Fort Worth. Check out Anna Bright’s instagram, she’s a top player in Pickleball with tons of intensity and passion and she’s a beauty. https://www.instagram.com/annabright.pb/?hl=en

<<

>>

Find it!

Copyright 2010
Tennis-Prose.com
To top