Holger Rune Makes Great History with First Career Title Victory
Holger Rune took just two sets to win the Barcelona Open 2025. The Danish sensation defeated home favourite Carlos Alcaraz in the final. This was Rune’s fifth title and the first after a gap of two years. Rune also went on to win his first ATP 500 title.
Alcaraz is on a nine-match winning streak following his win in the Monte Carlo Masters early this month. Having won the Barcelona Open on two occasions, the Spaniard was aiming to win his third title in four years. However, the Danish star was hungrier than Alcaraz after being forced to retire from the Monte Carlo Masters due to food poisoning. This win means that Rune will return to the top 10 and will be seeded ninth in the ATP rankings.
Holger Rune: Dominant display in the final
Carlos Alcaraz has shown his A game whenever he plays on a clay court. He is still young and learning from every match. Rune had to dig deep to get a positive result against the three-time Grand Slam winner.
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The first set saw end-to-end stuff by both these youngsters. Both broke each other’s service once in the match and took it to a tiebreaker. Rune was better on the first serve as he delivered 74% of the serves. Alcaraz was more successful on his second serve. However, his 17 unforced errors to Rune’s 13 led to his downfall in the first set. Alcaraz lost an exciting tie breaker by 8-6, and Rune was one step closer to his maiden title in Barcelona.
The second serve saw Alcaraz improving his first serve. From a 66% success rate in the first set, Carlos managed to increase the numbers to 83%. However, his unforced errors were not helping him. Rune was all over his opponent in the second set.
The Dane was more successful on the second serve than on the first serve. He saved four break points and converted one out of the two earned. This was a big break as Rune took the set 6-2. Holger Rune showed his class on the net by winning 12 of the 16 points in the final.
This win means that both are level on 2-2 in the head-to-head matches. These two met for the first time since Wimbledon 2023. Alcaraz won the match that time.
Post-match comments
Holger Rune said, “It means the world, it was such a great match. In the beginning, I was a little bit stressed, because Carlos plays big-time tennis. I had to breathe a lot and find my rhythm. After he broke me, I got more into the match and played my tennis. I’m so proud of myself.”
Carlos Alcaraz congratulated Holger Rune on an amazing week. He said, “Coming here and showing a great effort to make the people enjoy watching tennis, I appreciate that. We’ve been seeing each other (we were) 12 years old. Time flies. I’m really happy to see us in this position, how far we’ve come. Keep going.”
