Holger Rune overcame a stiff challenge from Dominik Koepfer to reach the semifinal of the Mexican Open in Acapulco.
The Dane is looking to build some momentum after a tough start to the season. This has been due to inconsistent results on-court and the exits of Boris Becker and Severin Luthi from his coaching team.
Many in the tennis world were shocked when the 20-year-old elected to start working with Patrick Mouratoglou once again. Recently, Rune discussed the impact of frequent coaching changes on his results.
Another off-court change is his mother being less visible at his matches than previously. Rune's mother explained that the plan was always to step back, but it is still a change for her son to adapt too.
The two-time French Open quarterfinalist had a tricky assignment against Koepfer, whose game is dangerous when it clicks, and Rune had to work hard for long periods to claim victory.
Rune secured an early break at the beginning of the first set, and many may have expected him to breeze through the set after that. But his German opponent broke straight back to show he was not to be taken lightly.
The 20-year-old broke again and eventually left himself serving for the set. Surprisingly, Rune's game completely faltered under the weight of Koepfer's powerful left-handed forehands and he was broken for a second time.
However, Rune then showed his class in the tiebreak to decide the set. He hit big serves and was clinical in the rallies to dominate the tiebreak. He took it 7-2, and the opening set 7-6.
Both players held serve quite easily in the first eight games of the set. The ninth game was where the drama started. Koepfer became loose for the first time in the second set and lost his serve after some ill-timed errors.
Yet, for the second time, Rune failed to serve it out. Koepfer took his first break point chance in the game to level the set at 5-5. Each player then held serve, which meant a tiebreak was needed once again.
The tiebreak started with an unbelievable point, where Rune somehow put a series of heavy shots from Koepfer back into the court, before winning the point with a stunning passing shot.
Rune was utterly inspired after that. He won the tiebreak 7-0, and the match 7-6 7-6. The Dane was not at his best throughout the match, but he played very well in the big moments to claim victory.
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