The red-hot Holger Rune will square off against the six-time champion Novak Djokovic in the finals of the Paris Masters on Sunday.
Holger Rune
The 19-year-old has reached his fourth consecutive final on the tour. He made it to the finals in the Sofia Open, the Stockholm Open, and the Basel Open. This is the first time Rune has made it to the finals of a Masters 1000 event. Rune has won 18 out of his last 20 matches on the tour.
Rune began his Paris Masters campaign against 3-time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka in the round of 64. The youngster bounced back from a set down and saved three match points to win the match 4-6, 7-5, 7-6 (7-3). In the round of 32, Rune went past the Polish star Hubert Hurkacz in straight sets 7-5, 6-1. Rune’s stunning run continued in the round of 16 as he got the better of Andrey Rublev in straight sets 6-4, 7-5. The Danish star faced a huge challenge in the form of world No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz in the quarterfinals. However, Rune stood up to the challenge and won the first set convincingly. Alcaraz had to retire with an abdominal strain with the score at 6-6 in the second set. Rune advanced to the semis to take on Felix Auger-Aliassime. The Canadian youngster had been on a 16-match winning streak that included a win against Rune in the Basel Open final. That streak was ended by Rune thanks to a solid performance. Rune won the match 6-3, 7-5 in one hour and 27 minutes. He managed to convert 3 out of the 8 break points.
Novak Djokovic
The Serbian superstar has been quite flawless en route to the finals. Interestingly, this is also Djokovic’s fourth consecutive final, similar to Rune. He won the Wimbledon, the Tel Aviv Open, and the Astana Open prior to the Paris Masters. This will be Djokovic’s 56th appearance in the finals of a Masters 1000 event. Djokovic has won 8 semifinals in Bercy and has not lost a single time. He is on a 13-match winning streak on the tour.
The 21-time Grand Slam champion was awarded a bye in the first round. He began his Paris Masters campaign against America’s Maxime Cressy in the round of 32. Cressy made Djokovic work hard in the first set but it seemed that the veteran always had things under control. Djokovic eventually won the match 7-6 (7-1), 6-4. In the round of 16, Djokovic won the match 6-4, 6-1 against Karen Khachanov. The 35-year-old went from strength to strength as he bageled Lorenzo Musetti in the first set of the quarterfinals. In the second set, Musetti managed to win three games but it was still a one-sided affair. The match ended 6-0, 6-3 in favor of the legendary player. Djokovic faced Stefanos Tsitsipas in the semifinal, an opponent he has enjoyed playing against. Prior to the match, Djokovic was up 8-2 on the head-to-head. With the help of 36 winners and a fine defensive game, Djokovic defeated Tsitsipas in three sets 6-2, 3-6, 7-6 (7-4) in two hours and 19 minutes. This was Djokovic’s eight consecutive win against the world No. 5.
Head-to-Head and Prediction
The head-to-head scoreline currently stands at 1-0 in favor of Novak Djokovic. He defeated Rune in the first round of the US Open in 2021 in four sets 6-1, 6-7, 6-2, 6-1.
Prediction: Novak Djokovic to win in three sets.
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