By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Saturday, November 6, 2022
On the most special day of his young career, one that saw him capture his maiden Masters 1000 title and cap a run that saw him defeat five top-10 players in succession in Paris, Holger Rune demonstrated what makes him more than just a ridiculously talented teenager in one sentence.
“It’s kind of a small dream come true, even though I have bigger dreams.”
Sure he was elated – overjoyed, in fact. But even in the throes of his realized dream, his impending top-10 debut and the media adoration that comes with such an incredible triumph in at a marquee event like the Paris Masters, Rune wouldn’t let slip his bigger goals from the back of his mind.
This is just a step, after all, in the direction of where this extremely driven teenager wants to take his career. Why treat it like he has just won a Grand Slam?
Nevertheless, the media can go crazy hyping Rune now, and it’s about time. Playing in the shadow of Carlos Alcaraz in 2022, may have allowed the Dane to stay comfortably under the radar for the last ten months, but those days are over.
If we focused too much of our spotlight on the wrecking ball Spaniard, the one who won five titles including two Masters 1000s and a Grand Slam, and became the youngest No.1 in ATP history, now is the time to turn our cameras to the blossoming Dane – and deservedly so.
When it comes to the future of men’s tennis, there is Alcaraz, and he is undoubtedly on top at the moment, but there is also Rune, and the Dane made that glaringly obvious this week in Paris with one of the most remarkable title runs in Masters 1000 history.
It had never been done – defeating five top-10 players in a single title run – in Masters history, and for a teenager to do it, after saving three match points in his first match (against a three-time major champion, who just happened to call him a baby after the match), is even more remarkable.
January ’22: World No. 103
November ’22 : World No. 10 📈
What does 2023 hold for @holgerrune2003? pic.twitter.com/VLJNCQSLTs
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) November 6, 2022
To cap it off with a win against Novak Djokovic, the player who has owned the Centre Court at Bercy like no other?
Even better.
“It means everything for me,” Rune said on court after his triumph. “It’s a perfect way to finish this tournament and I’m super proud of myself… To be able to share the court with Novak, who has always been so nice to me and is an incredible…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Blog RSS…