Holger Rune on Wednesday defeated top-seed Alexander Zverev in Munich at the Bavarian International Tennis Championships.
The 18-year-old Dane produced a high-class all-court performance against Alexander Zverev in Munich breaking the big-serving German four times on his way to a stunning 6-3, 6-2 victory at the ATP 250 event.
"It was a difficult match from the beginning," said Rune in his on-court interview. "He's in the top three in the world and has been playing some unbelievable tennis, especially in the past year winning so many big titles. I have a lot of respect for him, and I obviously didn't expect to win in two sets, and with a score like this. But it was a really hard match, we played a lot of rallies and I'm really happy about my performance today."
The win over the German is the biggest of Rune's career and his first over a Top 10 opponent at the fourth attempt. Prior to Wednesday's loss, home favourite Zverev had not failed to reach the quarter-finals in Munich in his past five appearances, a streak that included lifting back-to-back trophies in the Bavarian city in 2017 and 2018.
Rune has shown glimpses of his talent in 2022, winning his opening match in four of his past five tour-level events before arriving in Munich. He had yet to win consecutive ATP Tour matches this year, however, he changed that in style in Germany by completing straight-sets wins over Jiri Lehecka and top-seeded Zverev.
Rune's next opponent will be Emil Ruusuvuori, after the unseeded Finn defeated Maxime Cressy, 6-3, 6-3. World No. 63 Ruusuvuori broke the American four times in a 76-minute victory to reach a first tour-level quarter-final since his run to the championship match in Pune in February.
( With inputs from ANI )
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