Eliminated in the first round last year for his first participation in the London tournament, Holger Rune (20) will play this time in the round of 16 at Wimbledon, after his victory in five sets over Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, Saturday, in 3h58 (6- 3, 4-6, 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 [8]). Enough to demonstrate that he is progressing on all surfaces, he who reached the Rome final on clay in the spring.
Davidovich Fokina, however, has the weapons to disturb the Dane, whom he also beat this year at the Masters 1000 in Madrid. But Rune therefore took his revenge after a fierce struggle and at the cost of spectacular reversals. Led 2 sets to 1, the Scandinavian first had to snatch a decisive round, before going through a super unbreathable tie-break.
Fatal underhand service
Rune looked doomed after dropping points that put Davidovich Fokina up 6-2 then 8-5, after a rally concluded on a perfect lob. But the Spaniard did not go the distance mentally. As he watched Rune cling on, he cracked on his serve: an underhand engagement followed by a suicidal climb sent the Dane ahead on the wire. And Rune did not miss his opportunity to conclude.
In the round of 16, the Scandinavian will face the winner of the match between Frances Tiafoe and Grigor Dimitrov on Saturday evening.
