Holger Rune defeats Jannik Sinner in a late-night thriller, moves to Monte-Carlo finals

Holger Rune moved past Jannik Sinner 1-6, 7-5, 7-5 in a late-night thriller at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters, moving to within one win of capturing his second ATP Masters 1000 title. The 19-year-old Dane handled the conditions and pressure the best in a rain-disrupted clash on Court Rainier III.

The match was a battle between two of the brightest talents on Tour. The 21-year-old Italian, Sinner, had dominated the first set with a lot of winners. The 19-year-old Rune started slow but had to dig deep and find solutions, which he did well. He struck his clean groundstrokes with aggression in the heavy conditions and recovered from a slow start against Sinner.

Rune improved to 2-0 in his ATP Head2Head series against Sinner, with his 17th tour-level win of the season. The Dane is up two spots to No. 7 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings and can rise to a career-high No. 6 by claiming his eighth tour-level crown on Sunday.

Competing in heavy conditions, seventh seed Sinner and sixth seed Rune looked to dictate in the brutal baseline exchanges. After Sinner dominated the first set, both hammered the ball with unrelenting force following the 47-minute rain delay which came when Rune led 3-0 in the second set.

Rune’s strategy in the deciding set

In a tight deciding set, the 19-year-old used the drop shot effectively to pull Sinner around in a rivalry that fans will become accustomed to watching in the next decade. Locked in battle at the end of the third set, it was Rune who gained the decisive break in the 12th game of the set, triumphing when Sinner struck the net.

Sinner was competing in his third consecutive ATP Masters 1000 semifinal, having reached the last four in Indian Wells and the title match in Miami. The Italian, who beat Diego Schwartzman, Hubert Hurkacz, and Lorenzo Musetti earlier this week, leaves the Principality 24-6 on the season.

Rune aims to clinch his second ATP Masters 1000 crown

With his 17th tour-level win of the season, Rune has improved to 2-0 in his ATP Head2Head series against Sinner. The Dane is up two spots to No. 7 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings and can rise to a career-high No. 6 by claiming his eighth tour-level crown on Sunday. Rune defeated Novak Djokovic in the championship match in Paris last season and will aim to clinch his second ATP Masters 1000 crown when he takes on Andrey Rublev in Sunday’s final.

“It was quite unbelievable,” Rune said. “Jannik started firing, hitting a lot of winners, and he has been in good form the past few months. I had to dig deep and find solutions, which I did well. It was fun to play like this.”

Rune’s clean groundstrokes, aggressive play, and effective use of the drop shot proved to be the deciding factors in this match. Fans eagerly await the final match between Rune and Rublev, where the Dane will aim to capture his second ATP Masters 1000 title.