By Richard Pagliaro | Wednesday, April 27, 2022
World No. 70 Holger Rune stunned top-seeded Alexander Zverev 6-3, 6-2 scoring his first career Top 10 win to reach the Munich quarterfinals.
Photo credit: BMW Open by American Express Facebook
Two-time champion Alexander Zverev took the court seeking to extend his Munich stay.
A ruthless Holger Rune showed Zverev the door.
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The 18-year-old Rune broke to open both sets toppling the top-seeded Zverev 6-3, 6-2 to roll into the Munich quarterfinals.
It's a coming-of-age victory for the world No. 70, who scored his first career Top-10 triumph.
On his second match point, Rune followed a forehand forward and spiked a bounce smash into the third row punctuating a declarative 99-minute win with a resounding exclamation point that left his mom Aneke shedding a few tears of joy.
Afterward, Rune, who celebrates his 19th birthday on Friday, said he surprised himself with the straight-sets sweep.
“It was a difficult match from the beginning," Rune said in his on-court interview. "He’s in the top three in the world and has been playing some unbelievable tennis, especially in the past year winning so many big titles.
"I have a lot of respect for him, and I obviously didn’t expect to win in two sets, and with a score like this. But it was a really hard match, we played a lot of rallies and I’m really happy about my performance today.”
In a clash of former junior world No. 1 players, Rune consistently beat the world No. 3 in forehand exchanges, deployed the drop shot shrewdly to drag Zverev out of his comfort zone behind the baseline and played critical points with more command. Rune saved six of seven break points in a 99-minute win.
The Danish wild card set the tone early winning extended, physical baseline exchanges.
Winless in three prior meetings vs. Top 10 players, Rune exuded more energy and confidence at the outset. The teenager used his topspin forehand to create some sharp angles breaking at 30 to open the match then backing up the break at love.
Rune, who qualified for the 2021 US Open and took a set off world No. 1 Novak Djokovic in the first round, broke Zverev again for a 5-3 lead then served it out.
The Olympic gold-medal champion landed in Munich seeking to stretch his streak of five straight Munich quarterfinals or better, but Rune forced the big-hitting German to play off his back foot at times. Rune broke to start the second set and again consolidated at love for a 2-0 lead.
Mixing the depth of his drives with some daring drop shots, Rune broke again for 4-1 then confirmed the break for 5-1.
That smashing punctuation point capped the biggest win of Rune's career.
The teenager will try to keep this positive ride rolling when he faces either American serve-and-volleyer Maxime Cressy or 63rd-ranked Fin Emil Ruusuvuori for a semifinal spot.
The gifted Rune has already given himself an early birthday gift.