Holger Rune went down fighting against Novak Djokovic in their first match of the 2023 ATP Finals. The latter emerged victorious after a thrilling three-set encounter that lasted over three hours. The clash was so tight that Djokovic won only five points more overall than Rune. The Dane mentioned this in a post on X (formerly Twitter) and was criticised by a few.
Before their first round-robin match, the head-to-head between Rune and Djokovic stood at 2-2. The former has always put up a strong fight against the latter. Now that Rune has hired Djokovic’s former coach Boris Becker, his playstyle is becoming increasingly similar to the Serb. Once again, the World No.8 played some of his best tennis against the World No.1.
The duo endured two closely contested sets to take it to the decider. Djokovic prevailed in a straightforward third set, winning 7-6(4), 6-7(1), 6-3. He won 111 points in total to Rune’s 106, a gap of only five points.
After the match, Rune reposted a tweet that showed him bagging the second set to level the tie. He commented that he wanted to win the fixture but ‘unfortunately’ Djokovic secured five points more. Some fans were ticked off by the 2022 Paris Masters champion’s statement, accusing him of trying to cover up his collapse in the third set.
It’s insane how you collapse everytime in the third set. Every time it’s 7-6, 6-7 but in the third 6-3 like clockwork.
— Richard Louis Mercado Rivera (@Richie1up) November 13, 2023
Why unfortunately? He deserves the 5 points
— Devorah Sasha (@devorahsasha) November 13, 2023
We watched every point, the better player won, Rune deserved what he got
— Alicia (@natternats) November 13, 2023
5 more points yes, but look at the way they are dealt.
Nolo is saving energy in your serve, not pushing for every point. Only when he needs to take a breakpoint.
From this tactic you can learn – how to spread your energy, and only go for the needed winners.— Jan D (@JanDeleuran) November 13, 2023
One user said Rune should have simply wished Djokovic for the win rather than talking about the five-point difference, which is a sign of a champion like the Serb.
You could have congratulated him instead of pointing to 5 points difference. That makes the champion like him. @DjokerNole
— Tomi Kukal (@KukalTomi) November 13, 2023
A couple of fans mentioned how points are not the best metric, saying there have been occasions where players with lesser overall points have won the match.
Games more reliable statistic , in this case 6-3 to Novak in 3rd set . NB- There are 🎾matches where winner has less points than opponent(due to deuces) . Great effort against Novak who is now 8 times YE🌎# 1 . Congratulations 36 years of age Novak 🐊🐐🎾, astounding stat
— Tennis always (@hopscotchtennis) November 13, 2023
Doesn‘t really matter how much points someone has in tennis, it‘s more about winning the right one‘s imo
There have been plenty of matches where the winner even won less points 🤷🏼♀️
— Maya 96 (@Mayab96) November 13, 2023
It’s not about the points. Its about the games
— Thomas Leach (@_JustTennis_) November 13, 2023
Rune will next come up against Stefanos Tsitsipas whereas Djokovic will be challenged by Jannik Sinner.
Holger Rune vs Novak Djokovic head-to-head
Holger Rune onboarded Boris Becker after a poor stretch of form and it has already started paying dividends. After a string of early exits, he made it to the semi-finals of the Swiss Indoors and the quarters of the Paris Masters. In the latter fixture, It was none other than eventual champion Djokovic who beat him. That win levelled the head-to-head before the World No.1 took the lead 3-2 after their ATP Finals group stage clash.
Djokovic won their first-ever faceoff in the first round of the 2021 US Open. Even a No.145-ranked 18-year-old Rune, just one year after turning pro, took a set off the legendary Serb. The pair then squared off in what was the biggest match in the Dane’s career. He scored an upset win over Djokovic in the final of the 2022 Paris Masters to lift his first ATP 1000 title.
Their next face-off was also in a 1000-level tournament, the 2023 Rome Masters quarter-finals. Rune once again beat Djokovic, establishing himself as his kryptonite.
The 24-time Grand Slam winner, however, balanced the books by besting his young rival in the quarter-finals of the Paris Masters. He gained the head-to-head lead after beating him in a similar fashion in the ATP Finals round-robin stage. Rune already posed a stiff test for Djokovic and now, backed by his former coach Becker, will look to cause even more problems for the icon. This is a budding rivalry to watch out for.
