By winning his first Masters 1000 at Paris-Bercy against Novak Djokovic on Sunday, the 19-year-old Dane has reached a new milestone in a season of dazzling progress.
Under the spotlight of Paris-Bercy, first Masters 1000 trophy in hand after his victory over Novak Djokovic (3-6, 6-3, 7-5), Sunday November 6, Holger Rune seems hesitant, almost lost. As if he did not feel out of place in front of the 27 Grand Slam titles accumulated by the Serb and Stefan Edberg, present to present the trophy to the Dane.
His title, however, does not suffer from any dispute as he has impressed in eastern Paris. A dream week concluded with a new reversal against the master of the place Novak Djokovic, six times titled in the capital, a record. Led a zero set, his defense and aggressiveness ended up overthrowing the former world number 1.
“You completely deserve this victory, applauded the Djoker after the final. What an amazing week, I’m not happy you beat me, but I’m happy for you.” After saving three match points against Stanislas Wawrinka in the first round (4-6, 7-5, 7-6), Holger Rune became the first player since the creation of the ATP to beat five players from the top 10 in the same tournament (excluding the end-of-year Masters).
Hubert Hurkacz in the second round (No. 10), Andrey Rublev (No. 9) in the eighth, number one Carlos Alcaraz in the quarters on abandonment, while Rune had won the first set, the winner of three consecutive tournaments Félix Auger-Aliassime (n°8) in the semi-finals and therefore Djoko – who remained on thirteen wins in a row – in the final (n°7). All while conceding only one set out of his five wins against the top 10, a circle he will join for the first time on Monday.
Holger Rune owes his entry into the world gratin to a great end to the season. The Dane played his fourth consecutive final in a month at Paris-Bercy (defeats in Sofia and Basel, victory in Stockholm). In his last 21 meetings, the native of Copenhagen has lost only two.
It was however difficult to imagine him so high at the start of the season when he was in 103rd place in the ATP rankings. His second year on the main circuit will have been that of hatching, or rather of explosion. He burst onto the scene a few days after his 19th birthday at the end of April, winning his first title at the ATP 250 in Munich. A few weeks later, he reached the quarter-finals at Roland-Garros. Two months earlier, the new student of Patrick Mouratoglou (since October) was still playing a Challenger tournament (second ATP division).
At Paris-Bercy, the Dane passed the second round of a Masters 1000 for the first time in his young career. And his third title of the season allows him to be the first substitute for the Masters at the end of the year in Turin (November 13-20), where he would be called in the event of a package. He also withdrew from the Next Gen Finals in Milan, a tournament which brings together the best players under 22, and which begins on Tuesday.
He no longer plays in this category. “There is no doubt that Rune is the future of our sport, along with Carlos Alcaraz and a few other players”, confirmed Novak Djokovic before the final. The Serb unfortunately learned the hard way on Sunday. “My ultimate goal is to become world number 1”, he claimed in Munich, during his first title on the circuit. It was seven months ago.