Holger Rune won the 2024 Nordic Battle after beating Casper Ruud not once but twice in their match in Copenhagen, Denmark.
The two Scandinavian tennis stars met in the second leg of their 2024 Nordic Battle, and this time in a significantly larger arena, as the "battle" moved from Norway to Denmark.
The first match was won by Ruud, who bested his rival at Varner Arena in Asker, Norway. It is an arena that can hold up to 3,500 spectators, and with Ruud being the most successful player to ever come out of the country, it's not a surprise that tennis doesn't have a long tradition in the country, mostly known for being successful in winter sports.
Denmark, on the other hand, had plenty of successful tennis players, such as Caroline Wozniacki and Kurt Nielsen, so it wasn't a surprise that the second match of the 2024 Nordic Battle drew a bigger crowd in a 17,000-spectator Royal Arena in Copenhagen, Denmark.
The rules were set very clearly ahead of the second match of this special exhibition. Rune needed to win the match to send it into a special super tie-break, which would decide the overall winner of the 2024 Nordic Battle since his Norwegian opponent won the first match.
The young Dane had a much better start to the match in front of the home crowd, breaking his opponent's serve and immediately jumping out to a 2-0 lead. After that, both players managed to hold their serve, producing spectacular rallies and funny moments for the crowd in the Danish capital.
Without too many problems, Rune was able to win the first set 6-4, delighting the crowd in Copenhagen and getting closer to the super tie-break to decide the winner of the 2024 Nordic Battle.
Ruud tried searching for an answer in the second set of the match, but after holding his serve in the opening game, he wasn't able to produce a lot of magic, as he quickly fell behind 1-3 after another break from his opponent.
During the second set, Rune even allowed one of the ballboys to play against Ruud, something that happened also during their first match in Norway, highlighting the exhibition nature of the match.
The Danish player wasn't ready to play around with his lead, and he set out to increase it even more. He succeeded by breaking Ruud's serve, leading already 5-2, and after he held his serve one more time, Rune won the match 6-4, 6-2.
That meant a super tie-break (first to 10 points) decided the outcome of the 2024 Nordic Battle. While it might have been anticipated that both would win in front of their home crowds, it was all-out in the tie-break, as the winner would take all the glory.
Ruud started by winning the first point, and he kept the advantage for some time, leading 3-2. However, Rune was then able to jump out in front, breaking his opponent's serve in the tie-break to lead 5-4.
The young Dane was the better player in the super tie-break, and he increased his lead already to 8-5, with two balls in his hand to finish the match. He maybe felt the pressure of the home crowd, double-faulting to make it 8-6, but he then won the next point to make it 9-6, having three match points to close out the match.
One was enough for Rune, as he was able to close out the super tie-break, winning it 10-6 to also win the 2024 Nordic Battle. It was certainly an exciting exhibition for fans in both Norway and Denmark, but the Danish crowd had the last laugh with their player victorious.