Novak Djokovic and Holger Rune will be squaring off for the fifth time in their careers and for the third time this season when they meet again during round-robin action at the Nitto ATP Finals on Sunday night.
At just 20 years old, Rune already has a considerable history with arguably the greatest player of all time. And–somewhat surprisingly–basically all of it is good. They have split their four previous encounters and not once has the Dane lost in straight sets. He pushed Djokovic to four at the 2021 U.S. Open, pulled off a 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 upset in the 2022 Paris Masters final, won 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 in this year’s Rome quarterfinals, and lost 7-5, 6-7(3), 6-4 earlier this month in the Paris quarters.
Outside of Grand Slams, perhaps nowhere is it more difficult to defeat Djokovic than at the year-end championship. The 36-year-old Serb has won this tournament six times, including last fall in Turin. He has reached the final on two other occasions. Only once in his last 10 appearances has Djokovic failed to advanced out of the group stage.
Given the world No. 1’s current form, there is no reason to think anything will be different this time around. He has not lost a match since Wimbledon, reeling off titles at the Cincinnati Masters, U.S. Open, and Paris Masters.
It has been a much different post-Wimbledon stretch for Rune, who advanced to the quarterfinals at the All-England Club and then lost seven of his next eight matches. Finally, though, the world No. 10 got some semblance of momentum back on his side by reaching the Basel semifinals and the Paris quarters. New coach Boris Becker seems to be a decent fit in the early stages of their partnership.
Although Rune is starting to play well again and does not lack confidence in this matchup, Sunday may be a tough one for him. Djokovic is 14-0 in his last 14 opening matches at this tournament since losing his debut to David Ferrer at the 2007 tournament in Shanghai.
Pick: Djokovic in 2
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WWW?
Rune always plays him tough, but Joker in 2.
Had a feeling that would happen. Younger player is likely to improve on their previous performance.
Thinking Djokovic would be even more dominant all things considered, is misguided.
and borderline trolling