WATCH: Holger Rune fights back from the brink against Jannik Sinner to book first Monte Carlo final
Holger Rune fought back from a set down to take his semi-final at the Monte Carlo Masters against a well-supported Jannik Sinner.
Despite at one point needing to be talked down from an impending tantrum by the chair umpire, Rune otherwise showed great composure after dropping the opening set.
Sinner had started stronger in a match that promised big bombs from the baseline, although it was the Italian’s willingness to mix it up that gave him the early edge.
Rune completed the 1-6, 7-5, 7-5 victory in a little over 166 minutes, with the match hanging in the balance for much of the contest.
While Rune was forced onto the defensive time and again, he had tremendous grit to his game and was more than capable of turning the tables on Sinner.
“It was quite unbelievable,” Rune said after the win.
“Jannik started firing, hitting a lot of winners and he has been in good form the past few months. I had to dig deep and find solutions, which I did well. It was fun to play like this.”
The match was interrupted by rain which saw the contest finishing late at night under the Monte Carlo floodlights.
Sinner felt that the rain slowed the surface down and played into Rune’s hands.
“For sure it has changed when we went out off the court and with the rain, and after it was much slower, for sure,” said Sinner reflecting.
“[But] it was for both of us. The beginning was [very] windy. I managed very well the situation. Then after the rain delay, I had a difficult time in the match. That third set was just little roller coaster and went his way.”
In the heavy baseline exchanges, Sinner and Rune sought to control in the damp and difficult conditions. Following the 47-minute rain delay that occurred when Rune led 3-0 in the second set, both players returned to blasting the ball at each other relentlessly.
Sinner came back from 2-5 down in the second set to 5-5, saving two set points on serve at 4-5. However, Rune would not be denied, capitalizing on Sinner’s mistakes to notch eight of the final ten points of the frame.
In a close final set, the 19-year-old expertly utilised his drop shot to pull Sinner around in a rivalry that spectators could become accustomed to witnessing over the coming decade.
Rune goes on to face Andrey Rublev in the final with both men vying for their first Monte Carlo Masters title.
