By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Tuesday March 9, 2021
Holger Rune, the current junior No.1, notched his first ATP victory at the Chile Open.
Photo Source: TennisTV
Three qualifying three-setters have only seemed to energize Denmark’ Holger Rune. The 17-year-old Dane, who is currently the world’s No.1 junior, notched his first ATP win, 6-3, 6-2 over Argentinian qualifier Sebastian Baez.
Rune was cramping in his final qualifying match, but battled through a tense time and has now earned a second-round clash with second-seeded Benoit Paire of France.
The Dane isn’t shy about his aspirations for 2021. He believes he can clear more spots in the rankings to make his Top 100 debut.
“I think it's something realistic to [try to] be Top 100 at the end of the year,” said Rune, talking to ATPWorldTour.com. “So far I'm doing good, I'm winning matches and trying to fight [for] every match. This year I [only] lost three matches and my goal is to make it hard for my opponent.”
The Dane fell to Albert Ramos-Vinolas in three sets at last week's Argentina Open. He is 14-3 across all levels (including qualifying) in 2021.
Rune was in control for most of the way against Baez on Tuesday. After Baez broke to close to 3-4 in the opening set the Dane reeled off six consecutive games to lead by 6-3, 4-0. Baez pushed back and even saved five match points down the stretch, but Rune closed out the victory in 79 minutes.
Rune is the 2019 Roland-Garros Boys Singles champion, and practices regularly at the Mouratoglou Academy in the South of France. He made an appearance at the Ultimate Tennis Showdown there last year, falling to Corentin Moutet in a close match.
He’s quite a specimen for his age, packs power off of both wings, and clearly likes to play on the clay. He could be a tough out for Paire on Thursday.