World No. 1 Novak Djokovic (36, Serbia) met a strong challenger on an important road to defend his title. Denmark’s ‘divine’ Holger Rune (20), ranked 7th.
Djokovic beat 13th place Cameron Nori (28, England) 2-0 (6 -3, 6-4) and cruised.
This tournament is the third ATP Masters 1000 series held in the clay court season. Djokovic and Rune clash in the quarterfinals on the 17th. In the round of 16, Rune won 2-1 (6-4, 5-7, 6-4) against Alexei Porphyrin (24, Australia), who was ranked 77th.카지노사이트
Djokovic, the champion of this event last year, is a strong contender. As second seed Carlos Alcaras (20, Spain) was eliminated early in the round of 32, his chances of defending his title increased.
Djokovic. Rome|AFP Yonhap News
This is Djokovic, who is aiming for his 39th career victory in the ATP Masters 1000 series. But to him, Rune is never an easy opponent. The ATP Tour also predicted that “Djokovic will face the toughest challenge” regarding the match between the two.
When asked about fighting Djokovic, Rune said, “The win in Paris (against Djokovic last year) gave me faith. It will be a wonderful experience.”
Rune won the 2022 Paris ATP Masters 1000 singles final held on an indoor hard court last year with a come-from-behind victory over Djokovic 2-1 (3-6, 6-3, 7-5).
Earlier, in the first round of the 2021 US Open men’s singles, he was defeated by Djokovic 1-3 (1-6, 7-6 <7-5>, 2-6, 1-6). He was just 18 years old at the time.