Holger Rune pulls off an upset against Novak Djokovic in Rome

Holger Rune pulled off a sensational win over favourite Novak Djokovic in Rome to qualify for his third ATP Masters 1000 semi-final.

Holger Rune remained unfazed by the challenge in front of him and kept his focus despite being up against a six-time champion in Novak Djokovic. On a rainy day in Rome, the 20-year-old pulled off a stunning 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 over Djokovic in a thrilling quarter-final contest at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia.

Rune is building up a penchant for securing mammoth wins over the world number one. This was his second successive ATP Masters 1000 victory over Djokovic.

Although the Serb had won the second set to bounce back into the contest after rain had forced the players off the court for just over an hour, Rune remained composed and managed to get his wits together. He then went on to complete his triumph in two hours and 19 minutes at Foro Italico.

"It's really a big win for me,” said Rune in his on-court interview. “Obviously I did it last year in Paris as well, but every match is a huge challenge for me when I play against Novak. He's one of the greatest that's ever played the game. I knew I had to be at my best and I said it yesterday, and I was today. I'm super proud of myself and I enjoyed every moment out there."

The Dane now has a strong 17-4 record in his past six ATP Masters 1000 events which also include Rome. That tally obviously features his maiden title at that level when he won the Rolex Paris Masters last year. He had also defeated Djokovic in three sets to lift that trophy in 2022. Rune also leads the 93-time tour-level titlist 2-1 in their ATP head-to-head record.

"I stay humble of course. I have a lot to achieve," said the Dane. "I think you should always be humble. I think I am, I hope so and I hope people see me this way. I'm a huge fighter on the court and I leave everything when I play my matches. I'm super proud I was able to get the victory today. I had to fight hard and play my best tennis.

"Huge credit to Novak, I'm a big fan of his. He's a huge inspiration and I wish him all the best."

Djokovic was effusive in his praise for Rune and also accepted the fact that he has been beaten by him twice already with grace.

“Obviously in these kind of conditions, it's very difficult to get the ball past him. He's very, very fast, very quick. Great anticipation. Just a very talented, dynamic player, all-around player,” Djokovic said. “Yeah, he was just better. He played too good for me for most parts of the match. I did have a bad start of the third set. I think that's where match kind of shifted to his side. He kept his nerves and deserved to win.”

The world number one further hailed that a new generation has arrived to the scene already who are leaving their mark. “Obviously, a new generation is here already. I mean, Alcaraz is No. 1 in the world from Monday. Obviously he's playing amazing tennis. I think it's also good for our sport that we have new faces, new guys coming up. It's normal,” Djokovic said. “We've been saying this for years, that we can expect it to come, that moment to come when you have [a] kind of shift of generations.

“I’m personally still trying to hang in there with all of them. I'm happy with — of course, very happy with — my career so far. I still have the hunger to keep going.”