Djokovic beaten again by the young Dane. Italian Open announces first semifinalists

The tournament in Rome is in the quarter-final stage. Four of the five highest seeded players have made it through. The biggest favourite, however, is out at this stage.

A few days ago, Carlos Alcaraz was unexpectedly eliminated from the Rome tennis event. Novak Djokovic was slowly becoming the main favourite to win the trophy from the Eternal City. After all, he had already won the prestigious tennis event here six times, most recently last year.

Wednesday’s duel between Djokovic and Holger Run was one of the most anticipated matches of the tournament so far. The tournament’s No. 1 player took on the No. 7 seed. The 35-year-old tennis icon challenged the 15 years younger Dane, who managed to beat him last year.

The match took a similar turn in the first set, which the younger tennis player won 6:2. In the second set, the match was suspended due to rain at a rather crucial moment. The Serb was two balls short of winning the match when the young Dane served.

The six-time winner of this tournament had to wait several hours to finish the set successfully, but he did. The match went into the deciding set, which was a copy of the first set. Rune soon broke Djokovic’s serve twice, did not lose his own serve and advanced to the semifinals with a 6:2 win.

Players’ thoughts on the quarterfinal match

Rune was understandably very satisfied not only with the result but also with the game he played. “Every time we play (Djokovic), it’s a huge battle. He is a great player and it is always a huge challenge to play against him, ” he told the official website of the Rome Masters.

The Gentofte native also enjoys competing against Djokovic because it shows him what he needs to improve. “When something works against Novak, it works against almost anyone,” he said.

This year’s conditions in Rome are very specific. The Serbian tennis player described them as the coldest and rainiest he has ever experienced here. However, he spared no praise for Rune.

He praised the Dane’s speed and foresight. “He was just better. Too good to beat for most of the match,” he said of Holger Rune. The latter became the first semifinalist at this year’s Italian Open.

Which players are still in the game?

Norway’s Casper Ruud confirmed his improved form and also took advantage of an acceptable draw to become the second semi-finalist after his win against Argentina’s Cerundolo. Thursday’s matches will reveal the other two players to finish the tournament.

In the Russian-German clash, Yannick Hanfmann will play the surprise of the tournament against Daniil Medvedev and in the Southern European duel Stefanos Tsitsipas and Borna Coric will face each other.

Source: ATP, Italian Open