Holger Rune battled a very inspired youngster from France called Arthur Cazaux, and the youngster prevailed in four sets at the 2024 Australian Open.
This was not a very good performance from the Dane, who had really high hopes for this event. He played well last year and started well in Brisbane, as he made the final there even though he lost to Grigor Dimitrov.
The Danish player started well in Melbourne but faced problems against Cazaux. The problem was of an aggressive nature that attacked Rune immediately when he got the chance.
It's actually what Rune does to his opponents generally, so this match was pretty much him getting a taste of his own medicine. It was quite a brutal pill to swallow because Cazaux did it amazingly, pretty much perfectly.
Rune wasn't bad in rallies, but he wasn't as sharp as his opponent, which was essentially the difference. Rune also dealt with an apparent knee issue, which might have contributed to that.
The first set was one where Cazaux outplayed him comfortably and deservedly won it. It was a close one that went to the tiebreak, but ultimately, the right player won it.
The second set was more of the same as Cazaux's one again, played better, and won. The third set was a close one, but one where Rune was actually better as he won it.
He couldn't carry that momentum into the fourth set as Cazaux immediately broke to take an early lead and keep it. Rune tried, but he never really came close to breaking back. He created a single break chance but didn't use it and ultimately lost in four 6-7(4) 4-6 6-4 3-6.
It's a pretty huge upset, all things considered, and a last laugh for the Netflix curse. Just days after calling it 'stupid' and dismissing it completely, Rune paradoxically falls victim to it, but not really of course.
Holger Rune vs Arthur Cazaux Match Stats:
| Holger Rune | Arthur Cazaux | |
| 6 | Aces | 18 |
| 4 | Double Faults | 2 |
| 55% | First Serve % | 63% |
| 76% (58/76) | Points Won After First Serve % | 83% (62/75) |
| 57% (35/61) | Points Won After Second Serve % | 57% (25/44) |
| 25% (1/4) | Break Point Conversion | 33% (3/9) |
| 48 | Winners | 51 |
| 40 | Unforced Errors | 30 |
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