Holger Rune stunts at Rome Masters Tournament with win over Novak Djokovic: ‘I’m pretty proud of it’ | sport

Already in the first set, Djokovic barely came on. Things improved a bit after he was briefly treated for an injury at the start of the second act. He won the second set, but a double break from Rune early in the third was too much for him.

,,This is really a big win for me,” Rune said. “Although I have beaten him before, playing against Djokovic is still an incredible challenge for me. He is one of the best tennis players of all time. I knew I had to be at my best to win and I I’ve been. I’m quite proud of it. But I remain humble. I haven’t won as much as him.”

Djokovic, 35, is preparing for Roland Garros. He has already won the Australian Open this year. Djokovic is currently still the world number 1, but he will lose this position after the tournament Roma lost again to Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz. This would have happened if he had won the tournament in Italy.

With confidence, he goes to Paris, Djokovic said after his defeat. ,,I’m going to train for the most important clay court tournament of the season. I know I can do better and I can’t wait to analyze some aspects of my game and get back to full fitness. I hope I will soon be completely back to my old self, that’s my main goal. I lost against a talented and dynamic player. That can. It has been clear to me for a while that a new generation has emerged.

Although Alcaraz themselves surprisingly lost to Hungarian qualifier Fabian Marozsan in Rome on Monday, they had no points to defend for this tournament’s world ranking. Rune will play in the semi-final against the winner of the duel between the Norwegian Casper Ruud and the Argentinian Francisco Cerundolo.