Danish teenager Holger Rune on Sunday shocked six-time champion Novak Djokovic to clinch his first Masters title after coming from a set down to win 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 in Paris.
Rune, 19, became the youngest winner of the Paris Masters since an 18-year-old Boris Becker in 1986 after beating five top-10 players in as many days — the first to do so in the same tournament.
He is the fifth first-time Masters winner this season and yesterday became the first Danish man to break into the top 10.
Photo: AFP
“It’s probably the best feeling of my life, of my whole career,” Rune said on Sunday. “It’s kind of a small dream come true, even though I have bigger dreams.”
After winning the title in Stockholm either side of runner-up finishes in Sofia and Basel, Rune began his run to a fourth straight final by saving three match points in the opening round to beat Stan Wawrinka.
He then took down Hubert Hurkacz, followed by Andrey Rublev, before seeing off Carlos Alcaraz as the world No. 1 retired with an injury while trailing by a set in the quarter-finals.
Rune snapped Felix Auger-Aliassime’s 16-match winning streak to set up the clash with Djokovic, who had not lost at Bercy since his defeat to Karen Khachanov in the 2018 final.
“It was also very important for me to beat Felix and Alcaraz and these guys,” Rune said. “But still, to be able to beat Novak on such an occasion, and he’s probably one of the greatest we have ever had in this sport — it’s a crazy feeling to be able to beat him in this final.”
Serbia’s Djokovic came into the final having won 21 of 22 matches since the start of Wimbledon, which he won for the seventh time in July to match Pete Sampras.
“For somebody who is so young to show this composure and maturity in the big match like this is very impressive. He’s had a week of his life,” Djokovic said.
Djokovic is now focusing on winning the season-ending ATP Finals for a record-equaling sixth time, to draw level with Roger Federer.
“Of course I’m disappointed with the loss today, but I was very close,” he said. “It was just very few points that decided a winner, but the level of tennis that I’m playing is high, and I like my chances” in Turin.
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