Rising Danish tennis star Holger Rune again underlined his huge potential by claiming his second tournament win of the season: this time thanks to a straight sets defeat of world number five Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final of the Stockholm Open on Sunday.
The Greek was not the only notable scalp of Rune’s week as he also defeated two other top 25 players: British player Cameron Norrie, a Wimbledon semi-finalist, and Australian Alex De Minaur.
Time to turn it up!
Rune controlled the match against Tsitsipas with ease and won 6-4, 6-4. In total, he had only one break point to save against a player he had previously beaten quite comfortably at Roland Garros.
And now after his second ATP 250 title of the season, after the Bavarian Championship in April, where he knocked out the then world number three Alexander Zverev, he wants to move up a level.
โI want to win an ATP 500 tournament. Now I have two wins at the 250 level, so I can’t wait for the next one,” he enthused to DR.
Long in a year
Rune might have struggled to lift his reward โ the hefty trophy weighs no less than 30 kilos โ but he has no such problems with the pressure on his shoulders to succeed. Much is now expected of him.
A lowly 121st in the world rankings this time last year, the 19-year-old is now 25th in the world, his best career ranking.
In Basel this week, he will face De Minaur again in the first round, with perhaps even bigger scalps in his sights as world number one Carlos Alcaraz is among the field.
In high company
The Dane is having an excellent season, says the Danish Tennis Association’s sports director Jens Anker Andersen.
“As a Danish tennis lover, you can do nothing but clap your hands,” he said on the association’s website.
Rune’s two ATP 250 wins, combined with his appearance in the French Open quarterfinals, have made this the best season ever by a Danish man on the ATP Tour, Andersen continues.
Only one other teenager has won two ATP 250 titles in 2022: world number one Alcaraz.