The 19-year-old Dane recovers after the first set dominated by Nole and ends up triumphing. From tomorrow two 2003 (Rune and Alcaraz) in the Top10
“A new generation of champions is being born. Alcaraz, Rune, me. We are all young.” On the eve of the Bercy final, Novak Djokovic had witty commented on the current moment of tennis, including himself among the new recruits who are taking a seat at the table. However, today a table chaired by Holger Rune and not by the multiple Grand Slam champion as might have been expected, with the 2003 class who won the most important title of his young career in Paris Bercy, a comeback 3-6 6- 3 7-5 A historic day for the ATP circuit with the updated ranking will have two 2003s – Rune and Alcaraz – in the Top 10. The Next Gen has never been so “now”.
Tense start
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The first set is short: 36 minutes. Three unforced errors in the same game, including two double faults, soon complicate the life of Rune who in his first final in a Masters 1000 pays the consequences of the tension felt. The Dane finds himself with his head under water already in the fourth game, while on the other side the multiple Grand Slam champion, with a 3-1 break in his pocket, walks towards the end of the set on the rhythm of services. Without too many problems, Nole wins the partial 6-3.
The comeback
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In the first game of the second half, the 19-year-old glimpsed the abyss, forced to defend himself from three consecutive break points. After having shaken off the nervousness of the big occasions, he is saved and a few minutes later he even manages to reverse the trend of the match. Meanwhile the Serbian, who had made only five mistakes in the entire first set, with the same number of unforced loses his serve, allowing Rune to lead 2-0. Consolidated the advantage, the Next Gen finally shows himself without brakes and with his best tennis guards the break until the end of the set, sending everything back to the decider for 6-3.
High level
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Immediately after the reaction of the 19-year-old, Djokovic knows he has to raise the bar to be able to complete the defense of the title. At 2-1 he plays one of his best games in response and thanks to the opponent’s sixth double foul, he rises 3-1. However, at the change of court a problem in his left thigh disturbs him and, immediately the counter-break, he asks for the intervention of the physiotherapist. Meanwhile, Rune restores his balance and holds his opponent up to 5-5, when he launches the decisive attack that leads him to serve for the title. The last game is a high-tension film: you end up at the advantages, where the talent of the Next Gen must cancel four balls of the counterbreak to see the first match point (vanished with a double fault). The second time is the good one and after 15 minutes of the game the Dane accomplishes the feat.
Predestined
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At just 19, the Dane becomes the youngest Rolex Paris Masters champion since Boris Becker in 1986 (18 years old). Holger Rune is also the first to beat five Top 10 in the same tournament and the first Danish player to enter the Top 10. Thanks to today’s victory, he is also the first reserve player at the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin.
November 6, 2022 (change November 6, 2022 | 18:18)
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