He is young (19 years old, six days apart from Carlos Alcaraz), he is tall, he is blond under his cap and he hits everything that moves… The Dane Holger Rune is in the final of the Rolex Paris Masters after his victory authoritarian against Quebecer Félix Auger-Aliassime (6-4, 6-2), who remained on sixteen successes in a row, three tournaments won, and had beaten him last Sunday in Basel (Switzerland).
The world No. 18 took the Canadian by the throat from the first exchanges to make a success of the break in the 3rd game. And he never loosened his grip against an opponent a little less precise than usual and visibly blunt.
“It was a fantastic match today, from start to finish, smiled the winner. I focused on my game plan, I did well. I tried to win every point, even though Félix put a lot of pressure with his serve and his forehand. I tried to avoid it, and I’m very proud of how I did. I focus more on how I can put pressure on my opponent as much as possible. If I don’t put pressure on myself, they will put pressure on me. It must therefore be I who have the upper hand. »
After winning the first set, Rune confirmed with a break at the start of the second set. The protege of Patrick Mouratoglou, who has been following him for a few weeks, seems sealed off from all fatigue. However, he too remains on a hell of a series.
Before his lost final in Basel against FAA, the teenager from Gentofte won the ATP 250 tournament in Stockholm against Tsitsipas and missed Sofia’s last meeting against the Swiss Huesler. So here he is for the fourth time in five weeks invited to the Sunday duel after having notably dismissed world No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz in the quarterfinals (6-3, 6-6 ab). His first in Masters 1000 for his seventh appearance in this category of events. It will be against Novak Djokovic winner of Stefanos Tsitsipas in the other semi-final (6-2, 3-6, 7-6 (4)).