PARIS (Reuters) - Danish teenager Holger Rune fought back from a set down to beat hot favorite Novak Djokovic 3-6 6-3 7-5 and win his first Masters title in Paris on Sunday.
Rune, who beat four other top-10 players in Hubert Hurkacz, Andrey Rublev, Carlos Alcaraz and Felix Auger-Aliassime en route to the final, will now move into the top 10 when the new rankings are published on Monday.
“I’m not happy that you beat me, but on the other hand I’m happy for you because I like your personality, you’re a very dedicated guy who loves tennis,” Djokovic said with a smile at the trophy presentation.
“You’ve put in a lot of hours of hard work, it’s paying off for you and your future is bright.”
Rune said beating Djokovic in the Masters final was the icing on the cake in a week where he bagged his first Masters title and became the first Danish man to crack the top 10 of the ATP rankings.
“To beat Novak. To be able to beat him in such occasion ... in the final is probably the best feeling of this whole week,” said Rune, who defeated Hubert Hurkacz, Andrey Rublev, Carlos Alcaraz and Felix Auger-Aliassime en route to the title clash.
But the tables turned in the second set when Rune broke early and the young Dane took confidence from that to react well under pressure, using his serve and two-handed backhand to good effect to force a decider.
In the final set, Djokovic raced to a 3-1 lead but Rune quickly broke back, with the Serbian calling for a physio during a changeover to check on his thigh before the Dane levelled the set at 3-3.
After winning a break to go up 6-5, Rune served for the title but Djokovic put up a resolute defense as the 12th game stretched on for more than 17 minutes, with the crowd rising to their feet many times to applaud some engrossing rallies.