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Holger Rune beats world number five to claim title and break into top 25

Young Dane makes easy work of Stefanos Tsitsipas to claim the Stockholm Open

Loïc Padovani

Rising Danish tennis star Holger Rune again underlined his huge potential by claiming his second tournament win of the season: this time thanks to a straight sets defeat of the world number five Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final of the Stockholm Open on Sunday.

The Greek wasn’t the only notable scalp of Rune’s week as he also defeated two other top 25 players: British player Cameron Norrie, a semi-finalist at Wimbledon, and Australia’s Alex De Minaur.

Time to step it up!
Rune controlled the game against Tsitsipas with ease, winning 6-4, 6-4. In total, he only had one break point to save against a player he had previously beaten quite comfortably at Roland Garros.

And now following his second ATP 250 title of the season, following the the Bavarian Championship in April where he knocked out the then world number three Alexander Zverev, he would like to move it up a level.

“I would like to win an ATP 500 tournament. Now I have two wins at 250 level, so I can’t wait for the next one,” he enthused to DR.

A long way in a year
Rune might have struggled to lift his reward – the hefty trophy weighs no less than 30 kilos – but he has no such problems with the pressure on his shoulders to succeed. A lot is now expected of him.

A lowly 121th in the world ranking this time last year, the 19-year-old is now number 25 in the world, his best career ranking.

In Basel this week, he will again face De Minaur in the first round, with perhaps even bigger scalps in his sights, as world number one Carlos Alcaraz is among the field.

In exalted company
The Dane is having an outstanding season, according to the Danish tennis federation’s sports director Jens Anker Andersen.

“As a Danish tennis lover, you can’t do anything but clap your hands,” he said on the federation’s website.

Rune’s two ATP 250 victories, combined with his appearance in the French Open quarter-finals, have made this the best ever season by a Danish man on the ATP Tour, Andersen further contends.

Only one other teenager has won two ATP 250 titles in 2022: the world number one Alcaraz.

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