Rune wins in Monaco, Baez wins Estoril

Holger Rune called it ‘the worst way to win a final’, who after a perfect week in Monaco, in which he did not leave a single set to his opponents, won his first ATP title benefiting from the retirement of Botic van de Zandschulp in the final of the ATP 250 in Munich. The Dutch player was forced to wave the white flag due to a pain in his chest as he held a 4-3 lead in the first set, with the Dane serving at 40/15.

“This is probably the worst way to win a final,” said new champion Rune after the match. “I was expecting a very tough match, in fact my opponent had started very strong. I can only wish him the best and a speedy recovery. We hope to see him back on the pitch soon.”

Special birthday

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A birthday week to remember for the Next Gen, who turned 19 last Friday and completed the tournament without leaving a set for their opponents. On the way to the title he defeated the likes of Jiri Lehecka, Emil Rusuuvuori and Oscar Otte. Among his ‘victims’ also the top seed of the event Alexander Zverev (3 Atp), surprisingly eliminated on Wednesday during the round of 16. “As mentioned it wasn’t the way I expected it to end but looking at the week overall I’m super happy, of course,” Rune continued in his awards speech. “I expressed an incredible tennis and I fought hard to make my way. To be able to play here in Monaco and win my first ATP title in front of such an incredible audience … I really couldn’t ask for more!”.

Dream big

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Thanks to today’s result Rune has also become the first Danish player to win an event at the ATP level after Kenneth Carlsen who in 2005 won the Memphis tournament. Over the course of his career, Carlsen pushed himself to number 41 in the world rankings in 1993 and collected a total of 3 titles on the major circuit thanks to the successes of Hong Kong in 1998 and Tokyo in 2002. But the pupil of the Moratoglou Academy still dreams bigger. After arriving in the final, he declared that he had a very specific goal – and certainly for a few – in mind: “I’m growing day by day and it’s a very important thing because I want to become number 1 in the world. To do that, I’ll have to start. somewhere and I’m happy to be able to do it here in Munich “. And who starts well …

Baez, I smiled at Estoril

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Meanwhile in Portugal in the final between former Next Gen, the Argentine Sebastian Baez hits his first career title by beating Frances Tiafoe 2-0 in the 250 at Estoril.