WATCH: Holger Rune saves four match points en route to title, but his mother is the ‘real star’ of the show
Holger Rune faced four match points, required treatment and took issue with the amount of time it took to regrip his racket yet he somehow managed to come away with the BMW Open title after defeating Botic van de Zandschulp in extraordinary circumstances.
Fresh from losing to Andrey Rublev in the Monte Carlo Masters final last week, Rune looked set for another runners-up trophy as he found himself 2-5 down in the deciding set, but the teenager bounced back to win 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 (7-3) to secure the fourth title of his career.
Things got off to a pretty sweet start for the Dane in the ATP 250 final in Munich as he broke in the opening game of the match, but the world No 29 drew level in game four only for Rune to claim a second break in game seven.
At some point Rune sent his racket to be regripped but it took forever to finish and he made is feelings known to the chair umpire.
“It doesn’t take 20 minutes to put an overgrip. Please call the supervisor and ask them to send it here back, no matter how it is. That’s insane like, my record is 37 seconds,” the 19-year-old said.
But not all heroes wear cape as his mother Aneke was on hand to get the job done.
The REAL star of this first set is Rune’s mom re-taping his grip
Gasquet has (probably) never been so disgusted in his life pic.twitter.com/MOdMWd7eYc
— ATP Sharp 🎾 (@atpsharp) April 23, 2023
However, things went haywire for the world No 7 in the second set as Van de Zandschulp broke in games four and five to draw level and the frustrations got the better of the teenager.
The Dutchman took the momentum into the decider as he broke in the opening game and secured what seemed like another match-winning break in game seven for a 5-2 lead. Rune also required treatment on his shoulder and rolled his ankle during the third set.
Van de Zandschulp then came out to serve for the match and found himself with match points at 40-15 and 40-30, but Rune pulled a rabbit out of the hat twice.
After a hold from the Dane, the fourth seed again came out to serve for the match and he again had match points at 40-15 and 40-30 only for Rune to again save both as he broke again to take it to a tie-breaker.
The teenager claimed a mini break in game three and then made full use of his first match point as he broke again to wrap up the match.
“I was feeling really exhausted but I was fighting until the end and I tried everything I could to come back into the match,” Rune said. “I think for the crowd it was the perfect final. We really pushed each other to the limit and I am super happy I defended the title today.”
He added: “It is the last match and the last push, so you try to find a way. It could help me a little bit to not be as hurt. It was a struggle but I managed to get it done.”
