Top-seeded Alexander Zverev was on Wednesday overwhelmed in his first match in the BMW Open in Munich, Germany, by 18-year-old Dane Holger Rune 6-3, 6-2.
The German, ranked third in the world, had been given a bye in the first round of a tournament he won in 2017 and 2018, but only lasted 1 hour, 39 minutes in his second-round match against the 70th-ranked Rune.
“It was my worst match in the last five, six, seven years,” Zverev said. “He’s a good player, but I would have lost to anyone today.”
Photo: AFP
Rune broke in the second game to lead 3-0. At 5-3, he had six set points. He squandered four set points on unforced errors in the ninth game. Then Zverev saved the fifth with a winner, before Rune converted the sixth by putting away a volley.
Rune again broke at once in the second set and broke again to lead 5-1.
“He’s in the top three in the world and has been playing some unbelievable tennis,” Rune said in his on-court interview. “I obviously didn’t expect to win in two sets, and with a score like this. But it was a really hard match. We played a lot of rallies and I’m really happy about my performance.”
While Rune had won the opening match in each of his past four main-draw appearances, this was the first time this year that he had won two matches in a row at an ATP tournament.
It was also the first time he had beaten a top-10 player.
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