By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Friday April 28, 2023
Holger Rune won from match point down for the second time in less than a week.
Photo Source: TTV
Just five days after completing a stunning title defense in Munich, where he saved four championship points in the final to defeat Botic van de Zandschulp, Holger Rune has produced a fitting encore.
The 19-year-old Dane saved a match point in his Madrid debut on Friday, edging past Kazakhstan’s Alexander Bublik, 6-1 4-6 7-6(9) to set a third-round clash with Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.
"Honestly I'm out of words right now. It was such a tough match," Rune said after his latest eye-catching triumph Madrid. "In these kind of conditions, it's altitude, it's very fast compared to what I've played so far.
"Bublik, we all know how he's playing. He's playing super aggressive, taking the ball aggressive and early. So I had to really dig deep and find solutions. I was brave at the end and that's what made the difference."
Rune jumps to 22-8 on the season as he avenges a loss to Bublik at Metz last year in three sets, on indoor hard courts.
The Dane, playing at a career-high ranking of No.7 in the world, will turn 20 on Saturday.
It was a tricky day for seeds in Madrid as No.3-seeded Casper Ruud was knocked off by 22-year-old Italian qualifier Matteo Arnaldi, 6-3, 6-4. Ruud drops to 11-9 on the season with his loss. The World No.4 is searching for form as he heads into the two biggest clay court events of the season at Rome and Roland-Garros.
American Sebastian Korda, the No.22 seed, was playing in his first match since the Australian Open, but ended up on the losing side to French qualifier Hugo Grenier, 7-6(5), 7-6(7).
Germany’s Yannik Hanfmann also scored a big win, 6-4, 7-6(3), over 15th-seeded Lorenzo Musetti.
12th-seeded Hubert Hurkacz narrowly avoided an upset loss to France’s Richard Gasquet. The Pole rallied from 5-2 down in the third set to win 6-7(9), 6-4, 7-5.