“It means everything to me, a perfect way to finish the week. It’s a privilege to share the court with Novak,” ATP.com quoted Rune as saying.
(Picture- Novak Djokovic Twitetr)
Danish player Holger Rune, 19, who is currently ranked 10th on the ATP, reached a new high point on Sunday at the Paris Masters when he defeated Novak Djokovic 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 and won his first ATP Masters 1000 title.
After losing the first set, Rune battled back from being down 0/40 in the first game of the second set and from being down 1-3 in the third, saving six break points in the final game as he fought valiantly to defeat 21 times Grand Slam champion Djokovic and win the biggest title of his career.
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“It means everything to me, a perfect way to finish the week. It’s a privilege to share the court with Novak,” ATP.com quoted Rune as saying.
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“I’m feeling lovely to be honest, it’s the best feeling. If you told me four weeks ago, I would be Top 10… I would be like ‘What, sorry?’. Now I’m here and I’m super proud,” said Rune.
Congratulations @holgerrune2003 and to your team. As always, thank you Paris for an amazing experience! Merci beaucoup! ❤️ pic.twitter.com/LJAQ4MBCl6
— Novak Djokovic (@DjokerNole) November 6, 2022
Rune moved past Hubert Hurkacz, Andrey Rublev, this year US Open champion Carlos Alcaraz and Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime to reach his first Masters 1000 final.
“It was the most stressful game of my life. My heart was almost in my brain. I was already starting to think about the tie-break. I’m very proud I could finish it,” the new Paris Masters champion said.
Rune slammed 17 winners off that wing to Djokovic’s six in his two-hour, 33-minute victory. His title campaign in Paris will also lift him to a career-high No. 10 in the ATP Rankings on Monday. It was also the first time Novak Djokovic lost in 31 Masters 1000 finals when he has won the first set.
(inputs from ANI)
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