Holger Rune defeats Matteo Berrettini in Shanghai | ATP Tour

Matching Report

Rune denies Berrettini’s bulk in the third round in Shanghai

Cobolli takes out Wawrinka, setting up Djokovic’s rebound

October 07, 2024

The long wait for his opening match at the Rolex Shanghai Masters proved worth it for Holger Rune.

The Dane produced a strong performance to take down Matteo Berrettini 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 in a high-quality encounter on Monday at the ATP Masters 1000. After Rune received a bye in the opening round, his clash in the second round. and Berrettini was originally scheduled for Saturday. Although the incessant rain ended up keeping the players waiting for two more days, they did not disappoint when they arrived at the Qizhong Forest Sports City Arena.

Rune withstood 16 aces from Berrettini, according to Infosys ATP Stats, en route to a victory that included many cat-and-mouse exchanges. The 12th seed remained patient as she came back from a notch late in the service in both the second and third sets and claimed her maiden Shanghai win at the second attempt.

The clutch is coming 💪@holgerrune2003 beat Berrettini 4-6 6-4 6-3 to advance to Shanghai.@SH_RolexMasters | #RolexShanghaiMasters pic.twitter.com/h9g3ZHlBbT

– ATP Tour (@atptour) October 7, 2024

“I think [the match] it was very good,” said Rune, who now leads Berrettini 3-1 in the Lexus ATP Head2Head series between the two. “It was like he didn’t do too many things wrong in the first set. I made a few mistakes, but then he was on top of me. He didn’t let me make too many mistakes. I think the same thing happened in the second and third sets, just in a different way. Every time he was in the middle or short, I was there to punish his shot.

“It was a good game, to be honest. I think the tennis was at a very high level. We were hitting a lot of winners, good players, good moves, so I’m very happy to start my tournament like this.”

Now 13-7 in Masters 1000 events in 2024, Rune will meet 33rd seed Jiri Lehecka in the fourth round in Shanghai. The 21-year-old is looking for a deep run this week to help start a late charge to reach the Nitto ATP Finals: Rune moved up to 15th in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin after beating Berrettini, and could rise to eighth by lifting the title in China.

“I think I’ve been consistent in a lot of tournaments, but I haven’t gone well,” said Rune, whose best result this year was the final in Brisbane. “It’s just a process. Keep working, keep trying to do the right thing. From my side there was a big change from the first set to the last two sets. I was hitting the ball better. I was stepping up to the ball, playing more on my terms, coming forward aggressively.

“I am happy with the way I started this tournament. I think that’s the way I’m going to play and I’m going to continue like this.”

In the final match of the day, Flavio Cobolli held off Stan Wawrinka to set up a third-round meeting with record four-time champion Novak Djokovic. The Italian won 6-7(6), 7-6(4), 6-3 in his Shanghai opener despite Wawrinka dropping 17 aces in the Lexus ATP Head2Head opener.

It was a season-best 18th win for Cobolli, who competes in China at the top 30 in the PIF ATP Rankings. The 22-year-old is 34-25 this season.