Rune Topples Tsitsipas, Clinches Stockholm Crown

#NextGenATP Dane Holger Rune wrote another chapter into his standout season on Sunday at the Stockholm Open, where he upset top seed Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4, 6-4 to win his second tour-level title.

The 19-year-old opened his shoulders and hit through the World No. 5 throughout the one-hour, 35-minute clash, firing 20 winners and saving the one break point he faced to earn his third Top 5 win.

The Dane now leads Tsitsipas 2-0 in their ATP Head2Head series after defeating the 24-year-old at Roland Garros in June. Rune is up to No. 24 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings following his title run at the ATP 250 event.

“It was an unbelievable match from my side,” Rune said in his on-court interview. “I knew it was going to be difficult, but I just tried to stick to the game plan. I had to play my best tennis today and it was good that I could find the level. I am super happy.

“It was very close to perfection. I was making a lot of returns and playing pretty well behind my serve. Stefanos is an amazing player, who always makes it difficult. It was a super fun match to play.”

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In an aggressive display, Rune took the ball early and successfully targeted Tsitsipas’ backhand, outlasting the Greek on the crosscourt exchanges. The 19-year-old also demonstrated great touch around the net, closing points efficiently when moving forward to help him seal his memorable win.

Earlier this season, Rune clinched his maiden tour-level trophy in Munich, where he defeated then-World No. 3 Alexander Zverev en route to the crown. With his victory over Tsitsipas, the 19-year-old has become just the second teenager to win multiple tour-level titles this year, joining Carlos Alcaraz.

Rune will look to finish his season strongly. He will compete in Basel next week before he takes to court at the Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals – to be held from 8-12 November - for the second consecutive season.

Tsitsipas was aiming to win his 10th tour-level title and third this season, having tasted success in Monte Carlo and Mallorca. The Greek lifted the trophy in Stockholm on debut in 2018, but was unable to overcome Rune in a heavy-hitting clash.

from Tennis - ATP World Tour https://ift.tt/nt32uso