Holger Rune upsets Novak Djokovic to win his first masters title in Paris on Sunday after coming from a set down to win 3-6, 6-3, 7-5
The Siberian broke for a 3-1 lead as Holger Rune served back-to-back double faults in what was his fourth successive finals, but first at masters level.
Djokovic comfortably held out to pocket the opening set and looked to have Holger Rune on the ropes when he surged 40-0 lead on the first game of the second set. Holger Rune battled back superbly and thrashed Djokovic to shift momentum in his favor by immediately breaking to go 2-0 up the following game.
Holger Rune’s inexperience caught up against when he served a double fault yet again, but he showed his strong character and break back straight away. Instead of Rune cracking up, it was Djokovic who cracked up when the pressure was intense. Spearing a forehand wide to give Rune a chance to serve for the title.
After 2 hours and 34 minutes, Rune secured the title in a marathon final like game in an incredible week in the Capital of France, Paris.
Holger Rune’s winning tactic was to delay Djokovic and seize control of the point as soon as he could. Rune won five of his eight serves and volleys. Compared to Djokovic’s 33%, he made contact with the ball 38% more frequently within the baseline. Every chance Rune had to lean on the ball and force Djokovic to defend, he took advantage of. More often than not, Holger Rune positioned himself in an aggressive position in the point by hunting more forehands (165–147). North-south tactics are more advantageous.
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On the court, Rune was also the player that was more opportunistic. In the entire game, he only faced three break points and made them all. Djokovic, in comparison, accrued 12 break points in the two hours and 33 minutes of play, but he only succeeded in converting two of them. In his hands, it must have felt like sand slipping through them.
Short rallies were won or lost on Holger Rune’s forehand thanks to his Serve +1 tactic. When the point transitioned to longer exchanges, his backhand was the star of the show. Compared to Djokovic’s six backhand winners, Rune dominated with 17 total. Rune was propelled into the Top 10 of the ATP Rankings by a well-oiled, two-pronged onslaught.
Rune had additional power because of his court position, which enabled him to achieve an improbable triumph. In an effort to force as many mistakes from Djokovic as possible, he hit 37% of his backhands inside the baseline. Comparatively, only 26% of the Serb’s backhands connected within the baseline. The Danish player touched the ball. Too frequently, the Serb let it to come to him passively.
Holger Rune was on a mission to advance as frequently as possible in order to achieve triumph. Rune’s court movement was just another indicator of his superiority in the rally. Rune’s total distance throughout the game was 2739 meters, whereas Djokovic’s was 2981. The former world No. 1 ran too much.
Both Rune’s offensive and defense were simply amazing. If he wasn’t rushing the net, he was running back and forth towards the back of the court while slashing backhands and forehands to stay in the point. Rune only used 78 percent topspin during the game, compared to Djokovic’s 90 percent. For a 19-year-old, the defensive stat is impressive. Rune played 58% of his strokes across the court, compared to 54% for Djokovic.
Fact
The 16 year age gap between the pair was the biggest age gap in the masters finals since Rafael Nadal, then 19, defeated 35 year old Andre Agassi in Montreal in 2005.
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