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BBC News
20-04-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
'Brave' Rune stuns Alcaraz to win Barcelona Open
Holger Rune produced a sensational performance to stun home hero Carlos Alcaraz and claim the Barcelona Open Rune matched the Spaniard shot-for-shot and held firm in the tight moments to beat his childhood friend 7-6 (8-6) is Rune's first ATP Tour title for two years and his biggest since the Paris Masters in forced to retire in Monte Carlo last week with illness, said afterwards he had been inspired by Novak Djokovic's victory over Alcaraz in the Olympic final at Roland Garros."I told myself OK, what did Novak do when he beat him?" Rune, 21, said."I kind of played it in my mind, the Olympic final, and I thought to myself let's try to play that kind of style, really make him play a lot of balls."I'm really happy about how I stayed composed when it really mattered. I was also very brave when it mattered." Alcaraz, who had been bidding for a third Barcelona title in four years, missed all four of the break opportunities he created in the second set and also required a medical Rune will return to the top 10 on Monday, Alcaraz will be replaced as world number two by Alexander Zverev beat Ben Shelton in the Munich Open final to claim his first title of the year on his 28th birthday. The first set in Barcelona was a high-quality encounter between two players born just six days apart and who have been playing one another since their broke first, thumping his forehand with increasing ferocity, but Rune was equally impressive to immediately force the match back on aggressive baseliners, Alcaraz and Rune sent the ball thudding around Pista Rafael Nadal, but Rune was superior at the net, winning 12 of 16 points there. Monte Carlo champion Alcaraz fended off four set points but a long forehand in the tie-break handed the initiative to Alcaraz had his chances, missing two break points in Rune's first service game. But at 2-1 up, he left the court for a medical timeout, and could not find his rhythm on his reeled off the next five games, committing 24 unforced errors to Alcaraz's 33, and ultimately secured victory on a missed Alcaraz pair are set to play in the Madrid Masters, which begins on the men's doubles final, Britain's Luke Johnson and Dutch partner Sander Arends triumphed 6-3 6-7 (1-7) 10-6 against Britis pair Joe Salisbury and Neal Skupski.
New York Times
22-03-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Carlos Alcaraz exits Miami Open in loose defeat to David Goffin
Friday night in Miami, another player exploited Carlos Alcaraz's susceptibility to falling into a tennis trough while his opponent hits their peak. David Goffin, the former world No. 3 from Belgium, came back from losing the first set to knock an out-of-sorts Alcaraz out of the Miami Open, 5-7, 6-4, 6-3. Advertisement 'A poor level from me,' Alcaraz, the current world No. 3, told reporters after the match. 'Not feeling great or confident physically, it's really tough to get back,' he said. Alcaraz, 21, has signaled that he is aware of his propensity to disappear in matches, but even remedying that will do little to cancel out another phenomenon in which his opponents readily seem to find their best level against him, even briefly. Dutch qualifier Jesper de Jong did it at last year's French Open, which Alcaraz won; Frances Tiafoe and Ugo Humbert did the same at Wimbledon, which Alcaraz also won. Humbert repeated the trick at the Paris Masters last fall — in conditions which favor the Frenchman's sliding, flat, left-handed game — while the Czechs Tomas Machac and Jiri Lehecka did it in Shanghai and Doha respectively. Against Jack Draper at Indian Wells last week, he recovered from a weak first set, but dropped off again in the third. World No. 55 Goffin, 34, did it Friday night, going on the attack whenever he could and sliding serves out of Alcaraz's reach on the forehand side. When he couldn't attack, he let Alcaraz make mistakes. Playing Alcaraz and world No. 1 Jannik Sinner is largely an exercise in 'attack or be attacked,' but Sinner's greater solidity in the face of any barrages has let him come through them unscathed, while a brief peak against Alcaraz is more likely to lead to a change in match state. He may take solace in having little to defend before the French Open as the circuit transitions to clay. Daniil Medvedev, the world No. 8, joined Alcaraz in making a surprise exit by losing to Jaume Munar, the world No. 56. Munar, whose hard-court game has improved through 2025 thanks to greater aggression, ultimately dominated Medvedev in winning 6-2, 6-3. Medvedev again ranted against the balls in use, questioning how they could be suitable for a professional tournament, before receiving two code violations for smashing his racket. Goffin will face Brandon Nakashima of the U.S. in the third round; Munar will play Gael Monfils of France.
Yahoo
16-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Holger Rune solves the Daniil Medvedev riddle, makes first BNP Paribas Open final
Daniil Medvedev has had a knack for solving all his in-match riddles in recent years at the BNP Paribas Open, reaching the last two finals, but on Saturday a 21-year-old from Denmark had all the answers. Holger Rune, a 21-year-old Dane who has risen as high as No. 4 in the world, played his best during the biggest points to sweep past Medvedev 7-5, 6-4 in the first BNP Paribas Open semifinal. Rune preached patience during his win and the second-to-last point of the match was the perfect example. He and Medvedev engaging in a long rally with the score 30-30 on Rune's serve. The point lasted at least 25 strokes and in the end it was the veteran Medvedev who flinched hitting a shot long. On match point, Rune blasted a solid first serve in and Medvedev could only get a racket on it and hit a fluttering ball back that Rune put away, to clinch a trip to the finals, his fourth at the Masters 1000 level and first here. "That was crazy," a still-out-of-breath Rune told the crowd after the match. "At the end, there were some super long points and rallies and I had to stay patient and wait for the right ball which is difficult against Daniil who always plays incredible here. But, I don't know, what a day and what an atmosphere." Rune's win came in front of an almost full Stadium 1 crowd on a pitch-perfect weather day in Indian Wells. Rune will face the winner of Saturday's other semifinal between Carlos Alcaraz and Jack Draper in Sunday's final. Rune has one Masters 1000 win his career, the 2002 Paris Masters. He prevented Medvedev from being just the third man to play in three consecutive BNP Paribas Open finals (Federer did it twice, Djokovic did it once). He lost both of those finals to Carlos Alcaraz, who can also accomplish that feat with a win Saturday. Rune, whose last name rhymes with tuna for those who love pronunciation, turned the tables on Medvedev who beat him in last year's quarterfinals here by the same 7-5, 6-4 score. His win ensures Sunday's championship match will be a very young one. It will be the first time any Masters 1000 or Grand Slam event will pit two players born in the 2000s. He and Alcaraz were born in 2003 and Draper was born in 2001. This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Holger Rune solves Daniil Medvedev, makes first Indian Wells final
Japan Times
16-03-2025
- Sport
- Japan Times
Rune shocks Medvedev to reach Indian Wells ATP final
Denmark's Holger Rune beat Daniil Medvedev 7-5, 6-4 to reach the Indian Wells ATP Masters final on Saturday, denying the Russian world No. 6 a third straight trip to the title match. Rune, ranked 13th, snapped a seven-match losing streak in semifinals and will face either two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz or Britain's Jack Draper on Sunday. "It means everything," Rune said. "The job is not over yet, but it feels amazing. Playing Daniil is one of the toughest challenges for me on tour. I obviously had the right tactics, but it was still so difficult because he puts in great effort and is super solid." In a rematch of last year's quarterfinals, the 21-year-old Rune showed admirable discipline against the Medvedev's vaunted defense, sticking in the rallies and keeping the Russian off balance with a variety of shots while making judicious use of his powerful forehand. After an early exchange of breaks in the opening set, Rune managed to grind out a key hold for 4-4, saving one break point in a game that went to deuce six times and lasted nearly 11 minutes. He gained the decisive break for a 6-5 lead and pocketed the set when his rolling backhand drew another error from Medvedev. The second set was a more straightforward affair after Rune broke Medvedev at love for a 2-1 lead. After two nervy points as he served for the match, Rune rallied from 0-30 down and survived another mammoth rally to give himself a match point, punctuating the victory with a forehand winner. "It's about finding the right tempo, and luckily I've got good leg work, so I can reach many balls," Rune said. "It's about finding the right pace and which shots to hit, because so many players miss too many shots against Daniil. "He makes you go for more, so I'm super proud that I managed to find the right rhythm." Rune, whose ascent has slowed since he burst on the scene in 2022 with a victory over Novak Djokovic in the Paris Masters final, reached his first tour-level final since Brisbane in January 2024.
CBC
01-03-2025
- Sport
- CBC
Auger-Aliassime falls short of 3rd title in 2025 with loss to Tsitsipas in Dubai final
Canada's Felix Auger-Aliassime fell short in earning a third ATP Tour title in 2025 on Saturday, losing 6-3, 6-3 to Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas in the Dubai Tennis Championships final. The Montreal native was ahead 3-2 in the opening set, but the turning point came in the seventh game when Tsitsipas won five straight points from 40/0 to break Auger-Aliassime's serve and run away with the first set. In the second set, Auger-Aliassime saved two break points in the third game, but was unable to convert the three he created. After tying it at 3-3, he surrendered the final three games to Tsitsipas. Auger-Aliassime falls short of 3rd straight ATP Tour tournament title, defeated by Tsitsipas 56 minutes ago Duration 2:57 "Tonight wasn't meant to be for me but that's congrats to Stefanos and his team, it's well deserved," Auger-Aliassime said post-match. "Big tournament, great level today, you know we've known each other for a long time and tonight you played at a very high level. "I'll push to get better and hopefully we'll have more chances to play more finals in the future." The 24-year-old Auger-Aliassime, the world No. 21, had four aces to two double faults and won 71 per cent of his first-serve points. He failed to break on all seven of his chances. Tsitsipas, the world No. 11, had four aces and four doubles along with winning 83 per cent of his first-serve points. The 26-year-old converted on 3-of-6 break point opportunities. Auger-Aliassime and Tsitsipas had met nine times before Saturday's final, with Tsitsipas leading 6-3. Tsitsipas triumphed in their most recent meeting, the second round of the 2023 Paris Masters. Prior to that, Auger-Aliassime claimed his first ATP Tour singles title by defeating Tsitsipas in straight sets in the 2022 Rotterdam Open final
