Rune Rockets Past Felix To Paris Final

Holger Rune took his stellar late-season form to another level on Saturday at the Rolex Paris Masters, where the #NextGenATP Dane dispatched Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-4, 6-2 to reach his maiden ATP Masters 1000 final.

Rune took control early in a meeting between two of the in-form players on the ATP Tour, using his aggressive groundstrokes to dictate play wherever possible and heap pressure on the Auger-Aliassime serve. Both players were competing for a spot in their fourth consecutive ATP Tour final, but the 19-year-old Rune converted three of eight break points to wrap a comprehensive 88-minute win.

It was the second meeting between Rune and Auger-Aliassime in the space of six days, following the latter’s straight-sets triumph in the Basel final on Sunday. Yet the Canadian could not match Rune’s intensity or quality in Paris as the Dane convincingly halted Auger-Aliassime’s winning streak at 16 matches.

Fourth final in a row. Fourth top-10 win in a row 🤯@holgerrune2003 snaps Auger-Aliassime’s SIXTEEN-match winning streak to reach his maiden Masters 1000 final in Paris!#RolexParisMasters pic.twitter.com/gcfq107ye9

— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) November 5, 2022

Rune had been unable to break the Auger-Aliassime serve across two tight sets in Basel but he was able to forge a breakthrough in just the third game of the match this time around. A combination of some smart returning and Auger-Aliassime netting a straightforward forehand drive volley on break point gave the Dane a 2-1 lead, and he held on comfortably to claim a set in which he made 89 per cent (24/27) of first serves.

Despite some flashes of brilliance, Auger-Aliassime struggled to match the level he had shown throughout his remarkable winning streak. The Florence, Antwerp and Basel champion could find no way to regularly counter Rune’s forays to the net, and the Dane raced to a 4-0 lead in the second set en route to completing his 18th tour-level win in 20 matches.

Having moved past Hubert Hurkacz, Andrey Rublev, Carlos Alcaraz and Auger-Aliassime in his past four matches in Paris, Rune will now aim for five Top 10 victories in as many days in Sunday’s championship match. His opponent there will be six-time Paris champion Novak Djokovic or Stefanos Tsitsipas.

More to follow…