Danish teenager Rune stuns Djokovic to win maiden Paris Masters title

Holger Rune came from 1-3 down in the third set to win 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 and hand six-time champion Djokovic his first defeat at the event since 2018.

Denmark’s Holger Rune celebrates with the trophy after beating Serbia’s Novak Djokovic in the Paris Masters final at The AccorHotels Arena in Paris on Sunday. | Photo Credit: AFP

Danish teenager Holger Rune stunned six-time champion Novak Djokovic to win the Paris Masters title on Sunday.

Rune came from 1-3 down in the third set to win 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 in two hours 32 minutes and hand the Serbian his first defeat at the event since 2018.

👑 HOLGER'S TIME IS NOW 👑

The moment 🇩🇰 @holgerrune2003 won his first Masters 1000 title! @RolexPMasters | #RolexParisMasterspic.twitter.com/Y7lgepv35g

— ATP Tour (@atptour) November 6, 2022

Victory over Djokovic concluded a sensational week for 19-year-old from Gentofte as he beat five top 10 players to clinch the title, the first one on record (since 1973) to achieve such a feat.

Djokovic broke Rune in the fourth game of the opening set which proved enough to take the lead.

Rune, playing his first-ever Masters final as compared to Djokovic’s 56th, went down 0-40 in the opening game of the second set but somehow managed to save all three break points and hold serve. The Dane, however, then broke Djokovic in the following game to take a 2-0 lead and levelled things up by taking the second set 6-3.

In the deciding third set, Djokovic drew first blood as he broke Rune in the fourth game to go 3-1 up. The advantage, though, didn’t last long as a spirited Rune fought to break back immediately and bring things on serve. The Dane again broke Djokovic to go 6-5 up and serve for the title.

Rune saved six break points and wasted one match point with a double fault before eventually drawing an error on the half volley from Djokovic to seal the title.

“It was the most stressful game of my life,” Rune said about the 12th game of the third set in the on-court interview. “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.”

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On his way to the final, Rune defeated three-time Grand Slam winner Stan Wawrinka, World No. 10 Hubert Hurkacz, World No. 9 Andrey Rublev, World No 1 Carlos Alcaraz and World No. 8 Felix Auger-Aliassime.

Rune, who is the youngest Paris Masters champion since Boris Becker, 18, in 1986, will become the first-ever Danish man to enter top 10 in the ATP Rankings on Monday.

Rune was set to play in the Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan from Tuesday, an event for top eight Under-21 players, but has now withdrawn since he will be the first alternate for the season-ending ATP Finals in Turin which take place between November 13-20.