Matching Report
Former champion Rune dropped De Minaur to continue his run in Paris
The Dane faces Zverev in the last four
November 01, 2024
Corinne Dubreuil/ATP Tour
Former champion Holger Rune in action in Paris on Friday.
Written by Sam Jacot
Former Rolex Paris Masters champion Holger Rune kept alive his slim hopes of qualifying for the Nitto ATP Finals on Friday when he defeated Alex de Minaur in a dramatic quarter-final in the French capital.
In the match in Paris, Rune overcame De Minaur and won 6-4, 4-6, 7-5. The Dane was locked in an extended exchange and recovered from squandering a break in the third set to reach a fifth ATP Masters 1000 semi-final.
“He was opposing me a lot. He was making all quality balls, deep in the field and the field is fast here,” said Rune. “I had to adjust my game a little bit and it was a constant battle but the way I handled the last few matches was very good. I went for it, I got it and I’m very happy.”
HOLGER ❤️ PARIS.
2022 champion @holgerrune2003 he has advanced to his 5th ATP Masters 1000 semi-final!#RolexParisMasters | @RolexPMasters pic.twitter.com/xWeNumM7OU
– ATP Tour (@atptour) November 1, 2024
The 21-year-old defeated Novak Djokovic to win his first Masters 1000 title in Paris in 2022 and went 12-1 at the tough indoor event. Rune is 13th in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin with 3,025 points and can still qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals. Eighth-ranked De Minaur (3,745 points) is currently in the final qualifying spot for the Nitto ATP Finals and aims to make his debut in Turin.
Should Rune win his second Paris title in three years, he will move to within 120 points of De Minaur. Australia’s De Minaur will be chasing further points at the ATP 250 event in Belgrade and Rune will head to the ATP 250 in Metz next week.
After his two-hour, 28-minute win, Rune improved to 3-2 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series with De Minaur. The 13th seed will face Alexander Zverev in the semi-finals in Paris on Saturday.
“Sascha and I had a great match in Paris, where he took five. I beat him one time, he took me last,” said Rune. “He is one of the best players this year, so I will have to prepare well and recover and build on the level that comes out of this game.”
De Minaur, who was chasing his second Masters 1000 semi-final, struggled during the collision. He made only 47 percent of his first serve according to Infosys ATP Stats. Rune attacked at every opportunity and fired 24 winners en route to his second Top 10 win of the season (Grigor Dimitrov, Monte-Carlo).
