"Kind of reminds me of myself," said Novak Djokovic of Holger Rune on the eve of their clash in the final at the Paris Masters. "Solid backhand, very good defence and just competitive, every point leaving his heart and his legs out there on the court."
If Rune proceeds to obtain even a quarter of Djokovic's acquisitions on a tennis court, he will be considered a success.
The teenager is on the road though after his first trophy at a Masters 1000 event – considered the most coveted on the ATP circuit after the four Grand Slam tournaments in Melbourne, Paris, London and New York.
Rune came from a set down on Sunday to beat the six-time champion 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 after two hours and 33 minutes.
The 16-minute end game was a stirring saga full of grit and derring-do to make the Dane’s ancestors proud.
Serving for the title, Rune fended off five break points and then double faulted on his first match point.
A sixth break point was saved with a service winner. The second match point came when his 35-year-old opponent fluffed a backhand drive and the crown was his when a Djokovic half volley slumped into the net.
Rune fell onto his back before rising and running to the net to be munificently congratulated by his conquered foe.
History
Rune went into the final at the Accor Arena in Bercy seeking the accolade of becoming the youngest champion at the Paris Masters since an 18-year-old Boris Becker took the crown in 1986.
Four top 10 players had been dispatched on his surge to the final including the world number one and fellow 19-year-old Carlos Alcaraz.
Djokovic, who has spent a record 373 weeks in top spot, broke the Rune to lead 3-1 and confirmed his advantage swiftly.
He took the set after 36 minutes.
And he had three consecutive break points at the start of the second set.
But he let Rune come back to win a game that took nine minutes.
Perhaps peeved at his own inefficiencies, he allowed Rune his first sniff of a break in the next game.
And Rune claimed it when Djokovic sent a routine forehand into the tramlines.
An hour in and the teenager was 3-0 up in the second set. After missing a dinked half volley to trail 2-5, Djokovic stared up ashen faced as the 14,000 spectators roared the increasing possibility of a deciding set.
Fight
At 5-3, Rune's chance to make that a reality started at with a deft drop shot to lead 15-0. A backhand down the line winner and a service winner soon followed.
And he was on level terms after 80 minutes when Djokovic's attempted drop shot barely reached the net.
The next time Djokovic had three break points came at 2-1 in the decider. On this occasion he did not squander his opportunities.
He broke for 3-1 and asked for the physio as he stretched his left leg.
But Rune retrieved the break immediately and levelled at 3-3. From there, it was a flint fest until 5-5 when a Djokovic backhand went long to give Rune a break point.
Chance
A forehand into the tramlines gave Rune the chance to fashion a story that will be told many a day.
Fittingly, Rune’s fellow Scandinavian, Stefan Edberg presented him with the most valuable trophy of his nascent career.
"I want to say congratulations to you and your team," said Djokovic during the trophy presentation ceremony.
"I’m not happy you beat me but I’m happy for you because you put in the hours and work hard and I’m sure you will have many successes.
"I’m proud of another great fight," he added. "Some you win and some you lost but I’m pleased with my performance."
Rise
With the victory, Rune rose to a career high of 10 in the world rankings. He also pocketed a cheque for 836,355 euros.
"I can say it’s my favourite tournament," he quipped in his on-court interview.
And raising his hand to salute the fans in the stands, he added: "It's been a pleasure playing in front of you ... from the bottom of my heart, thank you."
Before the pyrotechnics of the singles final, Neil Skupski and Wesley Koolhof claimed the doubles crown.
The Anglo-Dutch duo beat Ivan Dodig and Austin Krajicek 7-6, 6-4 in 93 minutes to win their seventh title of the season and their third Masters 1000 trophy of 2022 after victories at the Madrid Open and at the Rogers Cup in Montreal.
