Holger Rune enjoyed a successful return to the Kungliga Tennishallen in Stockholm—the very venue where, last year, he sustained an Achilles tendon injury that sidelined him for ten months.
In the first round of the Stockholm Open, he defeated Belgian player Zizou Bergs in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4. His next challenge will be against Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic in the round of 16.
A single service break in each set proved sufficient for Holger Rune, whose performance was solid; he won points in every one of his own service games.
However, the Dane took some time to find his rhythm against the world number 44, surviving four break points in a grueling opening game that lasted over ten minutes.
As the first set progressed, his play steadily improved. He made Bergs work, forcing him to cover a lot of ground as he took a 3-2 lead, and he gradually began to get a good read on the Belgian’s serve.
This paid off when he pressured Bergs into hitting the ball wide on his first break point opportunity. That put the Dane ahead 5-3, and he closed out the set with a flawless service game.
Bergs served reasonably well and was significantly more consistent than Rune in landing his first serves. Yet, Rune eventually deciphered the Belgian’s serving patterns and unleashed some powerful returns along the way.
For the most part, the second set mirrored the first. The two players stayed neck and neck until, at 3-3, and then Rune capitalized on his first break point of the set.
Bergs was unable to recover from that. Rune remained rock-solid on his own serve, securing the set 6-4. The next opponent, Miomir Kecmanovic, is ranked number 64 in the world.