The duel, very even, was not exempt from tense and controversial moments
“It has been an incredible match and thanks to the fans I have been able to move it forward”, said the man from Malaga
Firmer, especially at the end, the Spanish Alexander Davidovich carried out the battle undertaken with the Danish Holger Runeninth player in the world, and reached the round of 16 of the Mutua Madrid Open, his best record so far in the Madrid Masters 1000.
The Andalusian prevailed by 7-6(1), 5-7 and 7-6(5) after three hours and six minutes of a close fight that rewarded the resistance and daring of the Spaniard who will face Croatian Borna Coric, executioner of the Polish Hubert Hurcakz, in the round of 16.
The man from Malaga ended his opponent’s good run who faced the duel with five victories in a row as background. Four from last week that gave him the title in Munich and the second round, against the Kazakh Alexander Bublik, in the Magic Box two days ago.
It was a tense, challenging duel, muddy at times. Especially at the beginning and that was accentuated when the Dane erased the mark of a ball that Davidovich claimed as bad and that the automatic review gave as good. Rune’s attitude annoyed the public who heightened their disapproval of him.
They are two Davidovich character players and Rune, a player who seems to enjoy challenges and tense environments such as the one that was installed for a time on the Manolo Santana stadium track. There were calls for attention from the chair umpire, the Brazilian Carlos Bernardes.
Apart from all this, gradually appeased with the passing of the games, the pulse was firm. None gave up in a first set resolved for the Spaniard in the tiebreaker. Later, the first service breaks arrived and the Dane took control of the match, he was stronger in the final stretch of the second set and equalized the duel.
The third and final sleeve recovered the balance. The Spaniard kept his cool against his rival’s attacks. He tied despite losing serve early on. He was firm with the physical. He resisted before Rune’s serve, a resolute weapon that he resorted to in every setback.
After another tear in the tenth quarter, Davidovich took out to win the game. He was not inspired and Rune compensated the situation and called to 5 after trailing 5-3. The clash was doomed to a tiebreaker where the Spaniard emerged again, who resisted until the end.
He celebrated it in a big way, with jumps, on the track and thanking the public for all their support for the victory.
Davidovich: “I have known how to manage the tension”
“It is true that there has been tension but I think I have managed it,” said the Andalusian on the track. “It was an incredible match and thanks to the fans I was able to move it forward. I’m tired but wanting to jump on the track again,” she acknowledged.
The Spaniard had never reached the round of 16 in Madrid. “I had not achieved two victories in a row in Madrid and now I’m in the round of 16. Is incredible”.
“Rune is a great player. A top ten player and will be one of the best in the world. Beating him at home, with this audience has been very special. Being alive here makes me want to jump on the track again,” insisted Davidovich, who will face Croatian Borna Coric in the round of 16.
“Mentally and physically it has been very hard but I was very focused on the game, on each point all the time. I am very happy,” said the Spanish tennis player. “Thank you so much. You have been amazing and without you I would not have won it in any way”, Davidovich told the public, indicating that he felt “the energy of the public in every situation.”