The Nitto ATP Finals second round of group play kicks off in Turin with a blockbuster matchup as Stefanos Tsitsipas takes on the brash Dane Holger Rune.
Holger Rune put on a show for the fans in Turin in his first round-robin match in the Nitto ATP Finals against world No. 1 Novak Djokovic. The Danish world No. 8 came up short, but it was a thrilling three-set match that featured a pair of tiebreakers.
Rune, who is working with former Djokovic coach Boris Becker, said after the match, “I think physically I felt okay. Of course, I feel it. We played [for] three hours. But I’m sure he also felt it a little bit.”
Rune’s Tuesday opponent is Stefanos Tsitsipas, who is in his fifth consecutive Nitto ATP Finals. He won the event in his maiden appearance in 2019, but not since. Tsitsipas has had a bit of a disappointing year, with a single title (Los Cabos) and his customary early exit at the U.S. Open–where he lost in the second round. Tsitsipas lost in straight sets in his first match in group play against home crowd favorite Jannik Sinner.
Rune holds a 2-0 head-to-head edge over Tsitsipas. The two men met twice last year, once on the indoor courts of Stockholm. Both players are good indoors. Rune won the Paris Masters last year in one of the most impressive title runs in recent memory, while Tsitsipas was a Paris semifinalist.
This one should be competitive. Rune’s efforts against Djokovic might mean that the 20-year-old comes in fatigued, perhaps making this a toss-up.
Cheryl pick: Rune in 3
Ricky pick: Tsitsipas in 3
WWW?
At 20 years old rune may not have a fatigue problem after the djokovic and probally will have enough in the tank to beat tsitsipas in 3 sets
we’ll never know!
Question marks for both. I’ll go w/ Ricky’s call.
he should have WDed before the match
So Hubie gets to play now! Hubie is a much tougher opponent than Tsitsi right now. He should get tons of easy points on his serve.
Quite unfair really plus Rune getting the win without earning it.
yep, good surface for Hurk
Don’t suppose Novak is thrilled. Means Sinner and Runs get easy points. He should still beat Hubie but could be a tough match. His wimby match with Hubie was very tough as he had so few break points. Going to be similar here.
Definitely unfair on him
What would be a fair arrangement be in this situation where a player have to withdraw? You can call it bad luck, but unfair?
Ok bad luck!!
unfair to who?
That was dog act by Tsitsi, he knew before the match that he is injured and only after three games decided to retire and give Rune win without earning it, plus not giving the chance to Hubert to have a crack at SF by winning two matches, he basically made WTF irregular with his action, what a punk!