After a strong clay campaign last season that saw him win his first ATP Tour title in Munich and reach his first Grand Slam quarter-final at Roland Garros, Holger Rune is up and running on the terre battue in 2023.
The Dane picked up where he left off on the surface with a 6-2, 6-4 win against Dominic Thiem on Wednesday night at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters.
"It's my first match back on clay so there were a few adjustments to make. But I'm all in all happy with how I handled the situation on court," Rune said after the pair's first ATP Head2Head meeting, noting the importance of keeping good depth on his strokes. "Dominic already played a couple of matches [on clay]. He's a dangerous player. He can hit winners from anywhere in the court so I had to be sharp, move well and play well."
Making his third appearance in Monaco, Rune is through to the last 16 for the first time. He was beaten by Casper Ruud in each of the past two editions of the event, losing in the opening round of his 2021 debut and in the second round last season.
The 19-year-old will face Matteo Berrettini on Thursday, seeking his second ATP Masters 1000 quarter-final and first since he won the Rolex Paris Masters last November.
Thiem played some of his best tennis of the season to beat Richard Gasquet in the Monte-Carlo first round, and he made a strong start against Rune with a love hold on Court Rainier III. But Rune's Top 10 level was too much for the Austrian in what was a one-sided opening set beyond that.
The World No. 9 pinned Thiem deep behind the baseline with relentless attacking, his electric forehand doing most of the damage as he rattled off five straight games from 1-2 to seal the set. Rune won all 14 of his first-serve points in the opener and finished with an 80 per cent win rate (28/35) behind his first delivery.
While Thiem raised his level in set two, landing heavy baseline blows of his own off both wings, the sixth-seeded Rune did not face a break point until his bid to serve out the match at 5-4. Staring down 15/40, he found two big serves to force deuce before clinching victory on his third match point.
"Of course there were a few moments at the end where I think he had maybe too much time to play," Rune assessed. "But I think all in all we played on my terms and I'm happy with how I controlled most of the match."
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Rune is up one place to No. 8 this week in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings, a mark that would match his career high in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings — though his position is still under threat by a chasing pack led by Jannik Sinner. The Dane would move past the injured Felix Auger-Aliassime (left knee) at No. 7 in the Live Rankings by reaching the semi-finals in Monaco.
Thiem was seeking his first Top 10 win on clay since defeating World No. 1 Novak Djokovic in the 2019 Roland Garros semis, and his first Top 10 win overall since beating the Serbian at the same stage of the 2020 Nitto ATP Finals. The defeat dropped him to 4-10 on the season, with his Estoril quarter-final run last week his best result of the year.
Berrettini will meet Rune in the last 16 after the Italian edged Francisco Cerundolo 5-7, 7-6(1), 6-4 to close Wednesday's play in Monte-Carlo. In an eventful match, Cerundolo rallied to steal the first set from 0-5 before Berrettini began his comeback.
Playing on his 27th birthday, the Italian did not face a break point in the second or third set and ultimately clinched the win after two hours, 42 minutes. Berrettini is through to the third round at an ATP Masters 1000 for the first time since his run to the fourth round last year at Indian Wells.
