8:47 p.m
Djokovic – Rune 7:5, 1:1
Is this the chance for Holger Rune? Djokovic puts his forehand inside-in into the net. This is followed by a jumped backhand cross, which also lands out of bounds. There are three consecutive break chances for Holger Rune.
8:45 p.m
Djokovic – Rune 7:5, 1:1
However, this is followed by ace and service winner as well as a backhand from Djokovic, which Rune speculates to be out of bounds. He easily equalized to 1:1 in the second set.
8:44 p.m
Djokovic – Rune 7:5, 1:0
Rune now has to be careful that the game doesn’t get away from him. The serve goes outwards, the subsequent forehand into the open field flies wildly into the touchline.
8:43 p.m
Djokovic – Rune 7:5, 1:0
Djokovic once again opens the set with his own service. The Serb starts the second set perfectly. With the next ace, this time on the outside, he doesn’t lose a point.
8:40 p.m
Conclusion sentence one
For a long time everything looked like a deserved tiebreak in the first set. Until the last service game, both opponents were on equal terms and did not allow a break point against them. Then Djokovic seizes the first opportunity and takes advantage of his very first break chance. Both players are only separated by nuances. Djokovic scored six points more than his opponent in the first set, but he had more unforced errors on his side. It remains exciting to see whether Holger Rune can demand even more from the Serb.
8:38 p.m
Djokovic – Rune 7:5
And this is Novak Djokovic! He sees his chance and grabs it immediately. Rune fights doggedly and digs one or two balls out of the defense. In the end, Djokovic takes down his opponent and puts the backhand volley right on the line. This means there is no tiebreak, but Novak Djokovic takes a close first set.
8:36 p.m
Djokovic – Rune 6:5
This is a novelty! Djokovic pulls his forehand to the winner at 146km/h and for the first time a service game goes into the deuce. And actually it doesn’t stop there. Rune is a bit unlucky with his forehand. The ball gets stuck on the edge of the net on the way to the free corner and comes back up on your own side. There is breakball, which also means set ball.
8:35 p.m
Djokovic – Rune 6:5
That does not exist. Rune fails to use his overhead ball twice in a row, but he manages to hit the difficult, deep backhand volley under the edge of the net to win the point. There’s even applause from the opponent!
8:33 p.m
Djokovic – Rune 6:5
But then things get a little too wild. On the return from the Serb, Rune messed up his backhand by a long shot. It’s a dangerous 30:30.
8:32 p.m
Djokovic – Rune 6:5
Rune actually looked like the dominant player in the rally. He caught the Serb off guard, but Djokvic still works his way back. Rune gives up the point with a backhand slice over the longline side that drifts out of bounds. But the loss of points doesn’t bother him for long, because with two points in a row he takes the game back into his own hands. The ace over the second is particularly impressive.
20:29
Djokovic – Rune 6:5
After 46 minutes of play, the tournament’s number one is already safely in the tie. Djokovic takes the next service game to zero. Can Holger Rune follow suit?
8:25 p.m
Djokovic – Rune 5:5
With the ball on his side, Rune has to work properly. Once again he gets the most out of his defensive work and maintains good length in his baseline shots. Djokovic loses patience and puts his forehand just behind the field. This means both of them continue to march towards the tiebreak.
20:24
Djokovic – Rune 5:4
Now it is Djokovic who is making himself extremely wide at the front of the net. Rune first tries to pass the ball, then decides to move forward as well and wants to briefly cross the volley to win the point. But Djokovic is there and can lift the ball into the open field, 30:30.
20:22
Djokovic – Rune 5:4
Djokovic’s forehand return lands behind the baseline before Rune produces his first double fault to make it 15:15. He then holds his ground in the rally and forces Djokovic to make the next mistake with his forehand.
8:19 p.m
Djokovic – Rune 5:4
At 15, Novak Djokovic brings home the next safe service game. Is there another break or are we safely heading for a tiebreak in the first set?
8:17 p.m
Djokovic – Rune 4:4
Well played by both! First Djokovic sends Rune from right to left and back across the court. The Dane shows good defensive qualities and brings every ball back to the other side. In the end, Djokovic has the longer breath and advances. The path to the volley, played briefly cross into the open field, is too long even for the 20-year-old.
8:14 p.m
Djokovic – Rune 4:4
As the service game continues, Djokovic wants to unpack the longline return winner a second time. This time, however, the ball ends up in touch. The challenge no longer helps him. This confirms the ball is out of bounds.
20:12
Djokovic – Rune 4:3
Rune makes impressive use of the advantage with new balls. With volley winners number four and five he quickly moves away to make it 30-0 from his point of view. This is followed by a strong forehand longline return from the Serb, whose ball Rune can no longer get in front of the racket.
8:09 p.m
Djokovic – Rune 4:3
Out of necessity, the 20-year-old puts his forehand cross into the double court and everything stays in line at the next break.
8:08 p.m
Djokovic – Rune 3:3
There is actually a double fault afterwards and thus a 30:30. Could there be the first break opportunity of the evening in just a few moments? No! At exactly the right moment, Djokovic hits the next service winner through the middle and destroys all of the young Dane’s hopes.
8:07 p.m
Djokovic – Rune 3:3
Now there is a slight mistake from the Serb. After two points in a row for Djokovic, he puts his forehand volley into the net without any need, 30:15.
8:06 p.m
Djokovic – Rune 3:3
Strong return from Rune. He pulls the ball sharply into the far corner, but the 36-year-old is there. However, this opens the field wide and Rune cannot take advantage of his opportunity. The backhand slice fails at the edge of the net.
8:05 p.m
Djokovic – Rune 3:3
The forehand winner remains the Serb’s only point when his opponent serves. Rune doesn’t allow much, but serves the next ace through the middle. The following network attack also promises the desired success. So there are still no chances of a break on either side.
8:03 p.m
Djokovic – Rune 3:2
Strong forehand from Djokovic! He puts the ball right on the line and gets the first point and thus the ticket into Holger Rune’s service game.
8:01 p.m
Djokovic – Rune 3:2
The number one in the world pulls off its service game with confidence. Among other things, with his first ace to the outside, he gets a clean sheet.
19:58
Djokovic – Rune 2:2
The pressure on Holger Rune’s groundstrokes is too high, so Djokovic now also hits his backhand into the net. With the first ace, the Dane leaves no doubt and, above all, break opportunities.
19:56
Djokovic – Rune 2:1
Could things get tight early on? Rune carelessly puts his backhand into the net to make it 30:30. Will there be the cue ball or break ball?
7:55 p.m
Djokovic – Rune 2:1
Rune wasn’t paying attention. He relies on serve and volley again and doesn’t look where his opponent is moving. With this he plays the ball exactly into Djokovic’s racket. He thanks him with a forehand winner.
19:52
Djokovic – Rune 2:1
That would have been a possibility! The first serve is not yet certain and so Rune wants to attack the second one immediately. He changes his return position into the field, but puts his backhand into the net. With a service winner to the outside, Djokovic puts the lid on his service game.
7:50 p.m
Djokovic – Rune 1:1
Novak DJokovic has to act on the second serve and a small rally develops. At the end, Rune puts his backhand longline into the double court. However, the next point goes to the Dane, as he comes through again with his net attack, 15:15.
7:48 p.m
Djokovic – Rune 1:1
With serve-and-volley into the free corner, Holger Rune doesn’t allow his opponent to score a point. So far things have been going well for the servers on both sides.
7:47 p.m
Djokovic – Rune 1:0
How does the Dane get into his first service game? Djokovic lets his opponent run well from the return, but moves his own forehand behind the court. This is followed by a backhand return error through the middle to make it 30-0 from Rune’s perspective.
7:45 p.m
Djokovic – Rune 1:0
Rune scores a point on Djokovic’s serve before he finishes his first confident serve through the middle. Rune goes long again, but can only place the return uncontrollably behind the baseline.
19:43
Djokovic – Rune 0:0
Dinner is served! Will Djokovic get revenge against Holger Rune? The start is tailor-made for the Serb. First the first rally goes to him, then Rune puts his forehand cross return into touch.
7:37 p.m
Players are there
The two players arrive on the Center Court in Paris Bercy on time. Novak Djokovic leaves the choice to Holger Rune in the coin toss. The Dane loses this and so the record winner in Paris can decide to serve or return. Djokovic chooses to serve and so things can start straight away after the warm-up time.
19:24
Rune with new impulses
Holger Rune is experiencing a difficult year at times. After his decline in performance from the middle of the season, the young Dane has now brought Boris Becker into his coaching team. Last week, Becker sat in the 20-year-old’s box for the first time at the Swiss Open. With his support, Rune made it to the semi-finals. The world number seven is making a solid impression again in Paris. He only needed two sets each to send Dominic Thiem and then Daniel Altmeier home. He also has pretty good memories of the duels with Djokovic.
7:18 p.m
Djokovic with a new feared opponent?
Basically, Novak Djokovic, record winner and current number one in the world, goes into almost every game as the absolute top favorite. But things haven’t been going quite well for him in Paris yet. After a bye in round one, the Serb had to stretch hard against his round of 16 opponent Tallon Griekspoor. In a close three-set thriller, Djokovic won 4:6, 7:6 and 6:4. Due to problems in the stomach area, he was probably not at 100% strength. It has not yet been revealed whether he is feeling better today. Rune could also develop into Djokovic’s feared opponent. In the three meetings so far, Holger Rune has emerged victorious twice, most recently at the ATP Masters 1000 in Rome.
19:13
Replay of the final
In a new edition of last year’s final, Novak Djokovic and Holger Rune will now meet in the quarter-finals. And not only that. Holger Rune recently hired Boris Becker as a super coach. Becker, for his part, looked after Djokovic from 2013 – 2016 and will certainly be able to give his protégé one or two good tips on the pitch.
7:01 p.m
Welcome
Good evening and welcome to the Night Session. The first two quarter-final games are already over. In keeping with the second half of the day, the session starts with a real banger. Novak Djokovic meets Holger Rune. It starts at 7:30 p.m.!