Holger Rune is through to his ninth ATP final after beating Roman Safiullin at the 2024 Brisbane International.
It was 14th Tour-level semifinal for the young Dane, and the odds were on his side, as he won 8 of the previous 13 last four matches that he played. On the other hand, it was only fifth semifinal for his opponent, who lost three of the previous four.
However, both had great form, and fans in Brisbane expected a great match, which they got, even though it wasn't a three-set match but another two-set win for the Danish player.
Rune had a dream start into the match, breaking his opponent's serve in the very first game of the opening set, and since then, he never allowed him to think about a comeback in the opener.
The young Dane didn't offer any break points, and he even had a chance to increase his lead to two breaks. That did not happen, but still, one break was enough to win the first set of this semifinal match, 6-4.
The second set looked like it followed the same script, as the 20-year-old started with a break of serve and a comfortable hold afterwards, but this time around, the Russian player was able to strike back.
Safiullin recovered the break, and even though he struggled on his next serve, offering Rune four break-back points, the Dane did not use his chances, and the fans were treated to a tie-break in the second set of the match.
However, if they expected a fight, as Safiullin certainly wanted to send the match to the deciding set, they did not get it, as the tie-break was as one-sided as it can possibly get.
Rune was all seven points, winning the tie-break 7-0, and the match 6-4, 7-6(0) to reach his ninth Tour-level final, where he'll await the winner of the match between the second-seeded Grigor Dimitrov, and Jordan Thompson, who defeated Rafael Nadal in his quarterfinal match.
0 Comments