Author: Chandra Moulee Das
Holger Rune reached his first final in Monte Carlo at the age of just 20. He is now only the second teenager to reach the final of the Masters 1000 on clay, after Rafael Nadal, who won two titles before his 20th birthday in 2005 and 2006.
To reach the final, Holger beat three opponents, including Dominic Thiem in the second round and Matteo Berrettini, who withdrew from the tournament. He then beat a tired Daniil Medvedev in the quarter-finals before facing an in-form Jannik Sinner in the semi-finals.
After a rain delay, they fought for two hours and 46 minutes, with Holger winning 1-6, 7-5, 7-5. This is Holger’s second Masters 1000 final, with the previous one in Paris last year.
Although Jannik initially made a strong start, he struggled to regain momentum after a break and was unable to assert his shots on the slower court. On the contrary, Holger played better in the critical moments of sets two and three, securing the win and guaranteeing a place in the title match against Andrey Rublev.
Despite firing 28 service winners, the Italian player faced a total of 14 break points, but impressively denied 11 of them, including five during the deciding set. In the end, however, it was the Dane who secured the crucial break at 6-5 to take the lead. Although Holger lost his serve three times, he quickly regained his rhythm after the first set and successfully defeated his opponent and the Italian crowd.
During the final set, the Dane outplayed his opponent, creating several chances consistently in games four and eight. Despite Jannik’s hard work in denying five break points, Rune held at 30 in game 11 for 6-5 and made a final push on the return before the tie-break.
Holger showed great resilience during the tie-break, coming back from a 30-0 deficit and finally creating a match point after Jannik’s loose backhand. The Italian’s routine forehand error resulted in a lost serve, sending the Dane into his second Masters 1000 title match at the age of 19.