Classy Rune Rolls Past Medvedev To Monte-Carlo SFs

He may be just 19 years old, but Holger Rune continues to build an impressive record against his Top 10 rivals.

The Dane defeated the in-form Daniil Medvedev 6-3, 6-4 on Friday at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters to reach his second ATP Masters 1000 semi-final. Rune delivered a calm and collected quarter-final display against the World No. 5, frequently manoeuvring Medvedev around the court with clean baseline hitting off both wings.

“It wasn’t easy for sure, it’s always tough to play Daniil,” said Rune, who has risen two spots to No. 7 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings as a result of his Monte-Carlo run. “It was actually my first time playing against him in a real match, but we’ve practised tonnes of times. I have huge respect for everything he’s done. The last week it was not easy to stop him but I’m happy I managed to do it.”

Clinical attack 🎯 from @holgerrune2003 ‼️

Over the past 6⃣ tournaments, Medvedev has only lost twice:
vs Alcaraz, #ConversionScore = 75%
vs Rune, #ConversionScore = 78%

They are the only players to have a 70%+ #ConversionScore vs Meddy since Jan 👏💪🤯 pic.twitter.com/sAGgb8TcxM

— Tennis Insights (@tennis_insights) April 14, 2023

Rune improved to 10-8 against opponents in the Top 10 of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings as a result of his 78-minute win in the Principality, a 56% win rate according to Infosys ATP Stats. Five of those victories against the ATP Tour’s elite came during his stunning run to the 2022 Rolex Paris Masters title, and Rune will face Jannik Sinner, a 6-2, 6-2 quarter-final winner against Lorenzo Musetti, in the Monte-Carlo semi-finals as he chases his second crown at Masters 1000 level.

“It’s going to be a great match no matter what,” said Rune, speaking before Sinner had defeated Musetti. “Two young players, up and coming. [Although] they’re already at the top, so it’s not really ‘up and coming’. Lorenzo had a great win yesterday and Sinner is in form as well so it’s going to be a tough match.”

Best Records vs. Top 10 (active players)

*Minimum 10 wins

Rune now holds a 16-7 record for the 2023 season, during which he has also reached semi-finals in Montpellier and Acapulco. The Dane faces extra pressure to maintain his consistent form across the European clay season, however.

In the coming weeks, he must defend Pepperstone ATP Ranking points from his 2022 title run in Munich, as well as last year’s semi-final showing in Lyon and his maiden Grand Slam quarter-final at Roland Garros. If he can forge similar clay-court successes this year, Rune could be well-placed in his bid to crack the Top 5 of the Pepperstone ATP Ranking for the first time.

After clinching the only break of the first set in the fourth game of Friday’s clash against Medvedev, Rune broke again for 2-1 in the second set as his aggressive hitting kept the third seed under constant pressure. Despite Medvedev immediately reclaiming the break to reignite his chances of sealing a 27th win in 28 tour-level matches, Rune’s sharp returning engineered another, and this time decisive, break in the ninth game.

Rune converted three of his five break points and won 81 per cent (17/21) of points at net. The three-time ATP Tour titlist was pleased with how he countered Medvedev’s serve, one of the former World No. 1’s most effective weapons during his recent red-hot run.

“It’s just really staying in the moment. His serve is huge, he can hit every target, it’s very effortless I would say,” Rune said. “He can just toss the ball and goes full. When it’s in and on the line, there’s nothing to do, you just have to accept it and try to see every chance you can get and take it.”