Sensational Holger Rune storms past Felix Auger-Aliassime to reach first Masters 1000 final in Paris

ByEurosport

Updated 05/11/2022 at 17:46 GMT

Holger Rune put in another superb performance to beat Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-4 6-2 in the Paris Masters semi-finals. The 19-year-old will now play in his first ATP Masters 1000 final on Sunday, where he will face Novak Djokovic or Stefanos Tsitsipas. Rune has reached four consecutive finals, while his victory ended a 16-match winning streak from eighth seed Auger-Aliassime.

Holger Rune continued his hot streak of form by beating Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-4 6-2 to reach his first ATP 1000 final at the Paris Masters, and end the Canadian’s 16-match winning streak.

In a highly anticipated clash between two of the form players on the ATP Tour, Rune’s big serving, lethal returning and powerful hitting helped him notch an 18th win in his last 20 matches and reach a fourth straight ATP Final.

An early break proved to be enough for the Dane to take the first set thanks to his consistency on serve, where he didn’t face a single break point in the entire match.

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Rune got off to the perfect start in the second set, breaking Auger-Aliassime in the opening game, and he soon broke again in a marathon 13-minute game to race clear of the eighth seed.

Rune landed 20 winners to Auger-Aliassime's 14 and kept his unforced errors to 16 to his opponent's 24, but it was on serve that he excelled, finishing with an 86% first serve percentage as he clinched victory in one hour, 27 minutes.

The 19-year-old got revenge for his defeat to Auger-Aliassime in the Basel final less than a week earlier with a straight-sets victory, tying their head-to-head level at 1-1 in the process.

Rune will face Novak Djokovic or Stefanos Tsitsipas in Sunday’s final as he looks for his third title of 2022, after victories in Munich and Stockholm.

Both players made it through their opening service games unscathed, but Rune then pounced to take an early break.

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A successful challenge from Rune on an Auger-Aliassime serve gave him a second chance, and the Canadian double-faulted to hand his opponent two break points.

He saved the first with a neat forehand winner, but then came forward and missed a simple volley to hand the Dane an early break.

Rune remained steadfast on serve for the rest of the set, recording a first serve percentage of 89% and winning 83% of those first serve points.

He pounced early in the second set, quickly setting up three break points after a trio of unforced errors from Auger-Aliassime, who struggled to find his range.

Felix saved the first with a well-placed winner, but another backhand drifted long as he gave up the second.

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The crucial moment came when Rune was 2-0 up, as the teenager came out on top of a gruelling game lasting more than 13 minutes.

Auger-Aliassime was clinging on by his fingernails as he saved three break points in deuce, but he couldn't save the fourth as his volley ducked into the net.

The wind went out of the eighth seed's sails at that point as Rune strolled through to take victory without facing a break point.

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