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“It means the world, it was such a great
match,” Rune said. “In the beginning, I was a little bit
stressed, because Carlos obviously plays big-time tennis. I had
to breathe a lot and find my rhythm. After he broke me, I got
more into the match and played my tennis. The first set was a
big battle, it was super important to win it and gain the
momentum. I’m so proud of myself.”
Alcaraz was coming off a nine-match winning streak that included
his first Monte Carlo Masters title last weekend. He was
searching for his third title of the year and 19th of his
career. He won the Barcelona Open in 2022 and 2023.
Rune, runner-up to Jack Draper at Indian Wells, rallied from a
break down in the opener and converted his fourth set point. He
cruised in the second set against Alcaraz, who twice needed
treatment on his upper right leg.
"I’m very happy with how I stayed composed when it mattered, and
I was really brave,” Rune said.
Alcaraz will lose his No. 2 ranking to Alexander Zverev, who won
his third Munich title on Sunday.
“Congratulations Holger on an amazing week,” Alcaraz said.
"Coming here and showing a great effort to make the people enjoy
watching tennis, I appreciate that. We’ve been seeing each other
since (we were) 12 years old. Time flies. I’m really happy to
see us in this position, how far we’ve (come). Keep going.”
It was the first ATP tour-level final between two players aged
21-and-under since 2022. Both are 21.
By reaching the final in Barcelona, Rune secured a return to the
top 10. He will move up to No. 9. The sixth seed in Barcelona,
Rune had been forced to retire from his Monte Carlo opener with
food poisoning.
The Madrid Open starts Monday.
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