Late night thriller: Rune defeats Sinner
With a little patience it turned into a big match after all; Holger Rune against Jannik Sinner in the semifinals of Monte Carlo. The young Dane kept his nerve and won against the South Tyrolean 1:6, 7:5 and 7:5. Now Rune could already win his second Masters title on Sunday.
by Robin Huiber
last edit:
Apr 15, 2023, 09:59 pm
The expectations were huge. Jannik Sinner versus Holger Rune. Two of the most promising players of the young generation. Many have dreamed of the beginning of a classic at the highest level. Probably still intoxicated from the semifinals between Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz in Miami. The first sentence could not keep this promise. Sinner acted too superiorly on the “Court Rainier III” in Monte Carlo. Rune was able to get through his first service game to make it 1-1. After that, Rune didn't win a game and Sinner didn't stand a chance in an uncomfortable eleven degrees and drizzle.
But at the beginning of the second sentence, the door opened surprisingly for the young Dane. He broke Sinner to make it 2-0 and was suddenly in the game out of nowhere. With Sinner, more and more mistakes crept into his groundstrokes. When Rune was 3-0, the match was suspended for a while because the lines on the pitch were getting slippery.
After the break, the young Dane stayed focused and made it 5:2. The dispute continued to live from the mistakes of the two opponents. Spectacular rallies were the exception - everything looked like a third round. But suddenly Sinner found his focus again from the first sentence. Break to 4:5 - and everything was open again. In the next service game, Sinner fended off two set balls and was able to equalize to 5:5.
In exchange with the Italian fans, who sometimes booed Rune, Rune found his way back and took the lead 6:5. A little later, the young Dane used his fourth set ball to make it 7:5. It went into the decision-making process.
In the third set, both players improved their level and reduced their mistakes. Ergo - it was now as high-class as we had hoped from the start. Although Sinner had to play a lot more for his service games, both players held their service up to 5:5. One always had the impression that Rune was a little more in control, but Sinner proved his fighting qualities.
And then Sinner still had to give up his serve. At 5:6, Rune gave the win with two penalties. A slight backhand error to match point and then finally victory with a forehand error. But in the end, Rune deservedly made it into the Monte Carlo final as the slightly more active player, where he met Andrej Rublev.