Holger Rune hoisted the Barcelona Open trophy on Sunday, picking up the biggest title of his young career. The young Danish player stunned reigning champion Carlos Alcaraz, winning 7-6, 6-2 in the final held at Pista Rafa Nadal. This victory not only ended Rune’s two-year trophy drought but returned him to the top 10 of the ATP men’s world rankings.
The match opened with an instant crack through Rune, with the Dane experiencing severe anxiety from Alcaraz’s relentless onslaught. He showed great strength of character to come roaring back into the contest. After having a break back, Rune won eight points in a row, turning the momentum in his favor to take the lead and never look back. That’s why he pointed out how important it is to win the first set. He explained, “When I got broken in the first set, I was like, I don’t have to make every ball on the line.”
Rune’s performance in the first set culminated in a tiebreak, where he capitalized on Alcaraz’s tenth unforced error, securing the set and gaining crucial momentum. In the second set, Rune was unflappable. He ended up saving all four break points against him and didn’t lose another game. This bold performance granted him such a large margin of victory that he was able to win the title overall.
Not only did Rune’s victory end his own trophy drought, it brought an impressive nine-match winning run for Alcaraz to an end. Rune held his nerve having previously lost the defining moments in four tour-level finals against superstars such as Alcaraz. This time around, he defeated those challenges and won the day.
Reflecting on his approach during the match, Rune noted, “So I (asked) myself: ‘What did Novak (Djokovic) do when he beat him?’ I imagined that Olympic final over and over again in my mind. After that, I focused on recreating that whole aesthetic by being super aggressive and smashing balls. What I’m most satisfied with is being able to maintain my cool under fire, when the chips were in the middle, and having courage.
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