Holger Rune advanced to the Paris Master's semi-final after Alcaraz retired in the second set and it was an important moment for him.
Despite the fact that it came after Alcaraz's retirement, Rune was proud of the victory, saying after the match that it had been amazing to finally defeat a number one. It was crucial for him to have this experience because they played together and against each other as young players on the Tour:
“It feels great. It’s the first time that I beat world No 1. You know, to beat Carlos is obviously special. You know, he’s the same age as me, and what he’s been doing, especially this year, is incredible. It feels very good. But at the same time, I’m super excited for tomorrow already.”
He will compete against Felix Auger-Aliassime in the semi-final, and they recently met in Basel. Rune is fully aware of every detail of that match and has already devised a strategy on how to counter what the Canadian is doing well at the moment.
“For my side, there is a lot I can take from that match and learn and try to do better tomorrow," explained Rune adding: “He is serving very good at the moment, so it’s really tough to break him. But I’m going to try to do small changes that I didn’t do last time to see if I can stress him a bit more. Mainly just go out there and have fun.”