Holger Rune made his Davis Cup debut at 14 years against Egypt in 2018. The young gun became the Danish men’s tennis leader, scoring five triumphs from six Davis Cup singles rubber. The latest win came on Friday in the Davis Cup Qualifiers round at home in Hillerød.
Denmark and India are tied after the opening day, and Rune kicked off the action with a commanding 6-2, 6-2 victory over Yuki Bhambri in 58 minutes. Holger produced many thrilling points, including a tweener in the second set’s second game.
It was a battle between former junior no. 1 players, and a teenager was the only player on the court, proving his top-10 status. Holger served at 49%, and no one cuuld notice that. The Dane dropped five points behind the initial shot and never faced a break point, keeping the pressure on the other side.
Bhambri is far from that pace, struggling to match the rival on an indoor court. Holger grabbed half of the return points and turned them into four breaks from seven opportunities, delivering two breaks in each set to control the scoreboard.
Yuki held in the encounter’s opening game with a touchy volley winner, and Holger leveled the score at 1-1 with a service winner in game two. The young gun defended superbly in the third game and created three break chances.
The Indian sprayed a forehand error on the second to find himself 2-1 behind. Rune found the rhythm behind the initial shot early on and produced another hold at love in game four with a booming serve for 3-1. Holger fired a forehand crosscourt return winner in the fifth game for another break point.
Bhambri saved it but hit a double fault on the second to experience another break and fall 4-1 behind. Rune landed an ace in the sixth game for 5-1, forcing the rival to serve to stay in the set. Yuki held after Holger’s forehand error to at least prolong the set.
Holger Rune scored a dominant Davis Cup victory at home.
The Dane served for the opener at 5-2 and brought the game and set home with a service winner, hoping for more in set number two. Like the opener, the second set kicked off with fine service games on both sides.
Rune stepped in on the return in game three and took advantage of the rival’s mistake to forge a 2-1 lead. The young gun confirmed the lead with a booming serve in game four, moving closer to the finish line. A top-10 star fired another powerful serve in the sixth game for 4-2 and grabbed a break in the next one when Bhambri netted a backhand.
Holger sealed the deal with an ace in game eight for a comfortable victory and the first point for his country.
Sekvensen med â¦@holgerrune2003â©’s tweener fra Davis Cup-kampen ð¤©ð¥
â¦@NickKyrgiosâ©, are you watching? ð
ð¥ DR1 pic.twitter.com/6pcCocQT8p — Aske Strandbygaard (@AskeSF) February 3, 2023
