Holger Rune is not playing his best tennis at the start of this season, but he is showing that determination that he has often lacked in the last two seasons. The young Danish talent reached the third round at the 2025 Australian Open by defeating Matteo Berrettini semifinalist here in 2022 after a very tough and exciting battle.
ADVERTISEMENT
The number 13 seed risked losing both the first and fourth sets, but he was braver than the Italian ace in the decisive moments and made the difference in the tiebreak of the fourth set that gave him the victory.
Rune needs wins and confidence at this stage of his career and seems on track to return to the highest level, after struggling more than expected over the past two years due to some problems both on and off the pitch.
Holger was considered almost at the same level as Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz until a couple of seasons ago, but the situation has changed a lot and he has to prove that the insiders had not made a mistake about his potential.
Rune is coming back
The 2022 Paris-Bercy Masters 1000 champion will face Miomir Kecmanovic in the next round. The Serbian player surprisingly eliminated the Polish Hubert Hurkacz, showing that he can play very well on this surface.
ADVERTISEMENT
Rune will undoubtedly start as the favorite on Saturday and if he wins could face Sinner in the round of 16 at Melbourne Park.
The Danish player was very satisfied at the end of his match against Berrettini: "I expected a very tough battle and so it was. I thought I had taken the decisive step towards victory when I broke in the fourth set, but then I made some mistakes and he recovered by gaining confidence. I tried not to think about the wasted chances, I fought until the end and this allowed me to achieve a very important victory."
Fans hope that this is just the beginning of Rune's rise, who has all the skills necessary to aspire to win a Grand Slam title. A small crisis can be normal at his age, as long as this talent finds his certainties and a reliable team that helps him grow.
