Archive of posts tagged Dane

Holger Rune joins Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner in exclusive 'Club 50'

Posted by on

6 Kings Slam

Holger Rune celebrated a milestone victory in Cincinnati. The young Dane ousted Roman Safiullin 7-5, 7-6 in an hour and 58 minutes in the second round, prevailing and making a winning start.

Holger celebrated his 50th Masters 1000 victory, becoming the fourth player born in 2000 or later to achieve that. Rune joined Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz and Felix Auger-Aliassime in the exclusive 'Club 50.'

The Dane claimed his first Masters 1000 win in Indian Wells three and a half years ago. He claimed the Paris Masters crown later that season following five straight top-10 triumphs!

Holger was the finalist in Monte Carlo and Rome in the spring of 2023, and his most recent Masters 1000 final came in Indian Wells this March. The youngster will seek his fifth Masters 1000 final in Cincinnati.

The 7th seed had to dig deep in his first test in Ohio. He took six points more than Safiullin and prevailed in the decisive moments to avoid a decider. Rune lost serve two times and provided three return games from five chances.

They sprayed over 70 unforced errors, and the Dane reduced the number of errors. Holger forged the advantage in service winners but lost in from the baseline. He had the upper hand in the shortest exchanges, and Roman reduced the gap in the mid-range ones.

Holger Rune, Cincinnati 2025

Holger Rune, Cincinnati 2025© Stream screenshot

 

They traded breaks in the middle of the opening set. The Dane provided another break in game nine and served for the set at 5-4. Rune wasted two set points and lost serve. 

However, he kept his composure and closed the opener with another break at 5-5 and a hold in game 12. The second set was much more fluid, with no break chances and 12 comfortable holds. 

Rune grabbed two mini-breaks for a 5-2 advantage. Roman erased the deficit with a mini-break in the tenth point, locking the result at 5-5. Still, Holger claimed a decisive point on the return at 6-5, sealing the deal and making a winning start.

Naomi Shines ā€“ In Montreal, Osaka Reaches Biggest Final Since 2022

Posted by on

By Chris Oddo | Wednesday August 6, 2025

It is Naomi Osaka’s time to shine once again. Back on her beloved hard courts, the four-time major champion has found her mojo and reeled off six consecutive victories to reach her biggest final since she played the Miami Open final in the spring of 2022.

Tennis Express player gear
Tennis Express player gear

Osaka edged past rising Dane Clara Tauson, 6-2 7-6(7) to book a date in the final with 18-year-old Victoria Mboko, who earlier saved a match point to oust Elena Rybakina in three dramatic sets.

Osaka reaches her fifth WTA 1000 final and her first at Montreal.

Osaka saved seven of nine break points, and converted four of five of her own, but her night got tricky in the second set when Tauson, bidding for her second 1000 final of the year, twice rallied from a break down to level the second set.

The Dane held her own from 4-4, forcing a tiebreak, and even had a pair of set points in the breaker. She couldn’t push through and Osaka took the reins to finish off the hard-hitting duel as she converted her second match point to close out her 22nd win of the season in one hour and 48 minutes.

More to follow…

Emotional Tauson Tops Keys, Dedicates Win to Grandfather

Posted by on

By Chris Oddo | Tuesday August 5, 2025

Clara Tauson was a woman on a mission on Tuesday in Montreal. Two days after notching her second Top-5 win of 2025 over Iga Swiatek, she reeled in her fourth Top-10 triumph of the season by defeating Australian Open champion Madison Keys, 6-1, 6-4.

Tennis Express player gear
Tennis Express player gear

It was an emotional victory for the 22-year-old Dane, who told the crowd that she was dedicating the victory to her grandfather, who recently passed way.

“I’m still in shock,” she said, breaking into tears. “Two days ago my grandfather, unfortunately, passed away. I really wanted to win for him today.

“I was told the day after I beat Iga, yesterday, so I really wanted to come out and show my best tennis for him, and hopefully he’s watching.”

Broadcasting (NEC)

Tauson will face either Naomi Osaka or Elina Svitolina in the semifinals.

She was out of the gates fast against sixth-seeded Keys, converting two breaks of serve to claim the opening set in under 30 minutes. Tauson made a break in the first game of set two hold up, saving a break point while serving at 4-3 before closing the match out in one hour and 13 minutes.

Tauson saved all three break points she faced and won each of her nine service games to improve to 32-15 on the season. She reaches her seventh career WTA semifinal, all of which have come on hard courts.

With the win Tauson is up to a career-high No.15 in the live rankings.

Opportunity Knocks For These Five Players in Canada

Posted by on

By Chris Oddo | Monday August 4, 2025

Among the handful of household names still very much in the mix ahead of quarterfinal action at the 1000-level events in Canada this week, there are a few newbies who could just be ready to make a big splash.

And a four-time major champion that has not seen much success at the biggest events of late.

Tennis Express player gear
Tennis Express player gear

Let’s have a look at some of the players that could produce breakout results over the next three days in Canada.

Alex Michelsen

The 20-year-old American has reached his maiden Masters quarterfinals, and that makes three American men in the quarters of a Masters event for the first time since 2004 Indian Wells: Michelsen, Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton.

Today Michelsen will face Karen Khachanov in Toronto as he bids to become the youngest American man to reach the semifinals at a Masters event since Andy Roddick won the 2003 title. Michelsen, who will rise to No.28 in the live rankings if he wins, is bidding to become the first player born in 2004 to reach a Masters semifinal.

Clara Tauson

The 22-year-old Dane has already defeated two Top-5 players in 2024. She has now reached her second WTA 1000 quarterfinal and is already up to a new career-high ranking of 17 in the live rankings. She’ll face Madison Keys on Tuesday.

Victoria Mboko

It’s all gravy for the youngest player remaining in the women’s draw – and the last Canadian standing in either event — in Montreal this week, as 18-year-old wild card Victoria Mboko faces Jessica Bouzas Maneiro for a spot in the semis on Monday night.

Mboko, making her main draw debut, defeated Coco Gauff to reach her maiden WTA 1000 quarterfinal. Same for Bouzas Maneiro, and both players are bidding to reach their first tour-level semifinal.

Ben Shelton

22-year-old American Ben Shelton has already reached the semifinals at a major, but he hasn’t gone there at a Masters event thus far. He’ll have a chance to achieve the feat on Tuesday when he meets Alex de Minaur in Toronto, in a first-time meeting.

Of the eight men remaining in the singles draw in Toronto, only the Americans – Michelsen and Shelton – have yet to reach a Masters final.

ben shelton citi open
ben shelton citi open

Naomi Osaka

Could it be the four-time Slam champion’s time to shine again in Montreal? Naomi Osaka, with new coach Tomasz Wiktorowski at the helm, will bid for her first 1000-level semifinal since 2022 in Miami.

The former No.1, who rifled past Anastasija Sevastova in 49 minutes on Sunday, will face former champion Elina Svitolina on Tuesday.

Only four of the remaining eight players left in the Montreal draw have previously won a title at the 1000 level: Madison Keys, Elena Rybakina, Osaka and Svitolina

Tauson Stuns Swiatek in Stirring Montreal Win

Posted by on

By Richard Pagliaro | Sunday, August 3, 2025
Photo credit: Minas Panagiotakis/Getty

A crackling Clara Tauson drive sent Iga Swiatek sprawling into a split behind the baseline.Ā 

Dictating with her serve, Tauson displaced the powerful Pole with deep drives stunning Swiatek 7-6(1), 6-3 to score one of her biggest career wins in Montreal.

Australian Open

Itā€™s been a tournament of upsets and weā€™ve seen two of the biggest in the last two days. 

Canadian wild card Victoria Mboko shocked top-seeded Coco Gauff 6-1, 6-4 last night.Ā 

Tonight, Tauson sent the second-seeded Swiatek packing to set up an appealing quarterfinal clash vs. Australian Open champion Madison Keys.Ā 

Earlier, the sixth-seeded Keys saved a pair of match points conquering Karolina Muchova, 4-6, 6-3, 7-5, to book a quarterfinal spot at the Omnium Banque Nationale quarterfinals. 

Embed from Getty Imageswindow.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:’rLanTN2qSpZwmVSOXn10oQ’,sig:’jI3-XoRZnopfPEsMI2AEeFNw0Nlr6QQvhRhC8Xzy0AY=’,w:’594px’,h:’396px’,items:’2227748045,2227748046,2227737196,2227737301,2227737494′,caption: true ,tld:’com’,is360: false })});

A calm Tauson denied seven of nine break points snapping Swiatekā€™s nine-match winning streak with a superb display of power-based baseline tennis. Apart from a sloppy tiebreaker, Swiatek did not play poorly, Tauson just took it to her when it mattered most.

The 16th-seeded Tauson handed the Wimbledon winner her first defeat since she fell to Jessica Pegula in the Bad Homburg grass-court final in June. 

One of the WTA Tourā€™s most commanding servers, Tauson showed tonight sheā€™s much more than a big server. Tauson dotted all areas of the service box to set up her fierce forehand, hit her two-handed backhand with bold intent and while sheā€™s not nearly as quick around the court as the speedy Swiatek, the 22-year-old Dane anticipated the direction of the Poleā€™s shots and often beat her to the punch. Perhaps thatā€™s because Tauson faced Swiatek at Wimbledon, falling in straight sets at the round of 16 last month. 

Tonight, Tauson broke in the third game then backed up the break with a love hold for 3-1.

Though Swiatek earned double break point in the sixth game, Tauson dug in with defiance and fought off four break points during a punishing 14-point game. Tauson held firm for 4-2. 

Two games later, the six-time Grand Slam champion earned triple break point. Swiatek was on the verge of breaking again only to see Tauson tame the threat with a five-point surge to hold for 5-3. 

Cruising through her own service games, Swiatek threw down a strong hold at 15 for 4-5 then tightened the screws on Tausonā€™s serve in the 10th game. 

When the Dane served for the set, Swiatek finally broke through at 15 to level 5-all. 

The tiebreaker was even after two points when Tauson lifted her level racing through six points in a row seizing a one-set lead. 

A tough Tauson saved seven of eight break points in that opening set and repeatedly hurt her opponent with the wide serve.

Swiatek would have been wise to drop back a bit deeper behind the baseline to give herself more time on the returnā€”and at least give Tauson a different sightline on serve. 

Catching her toss a few times, Tauson was decisive on serving direction as she won eight of the first 10 points on her serve in the second set. Belting deep drives, Tauson broke at 15 for a 3-1 second-set lead. 

Tauson slashed successive aces sealing a 7-6, 4-1 lead after one hour, 33 minutes of play. 

The six-time Grand Slam champion made a push holding in the sixth game then scoring her second break to cut the gap to 3-4. 

Unfazed, Tauson continued torching first strikes and exploited the Poleā€™s fifth double fault to break back for 5-3. 

Serving for one of her biggest career wins, Tauson did not flinch and when Swiatek netted a final backhand, Tauson broke into the wide smile to cap a well-deserved win.

Holger Rune sliding into Veronika Kudermetova DM mentioned during Russian's match

Posted by on

Alexei Popyrin

Holger Rune was mentioned during the Coco Gauff and Veronika Kudermetova Montreal match after a Tennis Channel commentator brought up the Russian tennis player's recent claim that the Dane slid into her Instagram DM. 

Prior to the start of the Canadian Open, one of the things that made the headlines in the tennis world was an interesting but also fun one – during a recent podcast appearance, 28-year-old Kudermetova shared that Rune tried shooting his shot with her. According to the 42nd-ranked WTA player, she only pointed out to the Dane that she was married. 

"Rune recently texted me. I told him, 'Boy, I'm probably too old for you. If you looked at my Instagram, you’d see I have a husband.' He replied, 'Oh, sorry.' After that, he stopped saying hi to me," the Russian tennis player said.

A commentator brings up Kudermetova's Rune revelation live on air

On Thursday, the world No. 42 took on Gauff in the Montreal third round. And right at the start of the second game, one Tennis Channel commentator brought up the news that recently made all the headlines. 

“I don’t know if you heard about this tea… not tennis related, but there was news that Holger Rune apparently texted Kudermetova, and she said she was too old for him and married," a Tennis Channel commentator told her colleague on air. 

Unfortunately for the Russian, what looked like a big day for her ended in disappointment after she allowed Gauff to come back from a set and a break down and win 4-6 7-5 6-2. 

Meanwhile, the ninth-ranked Dane has been through to the Toronto Masters round-of-16, where he plays Alexei Popyrin.

Holger Rune reveals his feelings about his time with Andre Agassi

Posted by on

Agassi Holger

Holger Rune is undoubtedly one of the most anticipated players at the Toronto Masters 1000, where he has the chance to achieve a prestigious result given the numerous absences among the top players. There are no Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, who occupy the top two positions in the ATP rankings, and Novak Djokovic and Jack Draper are not present in Canada either.

The young Danish star is not going through a brilliant moment in his career, especially considering that there were huge expectations on him when he took his first steps on the professional tour. He has had several injuries in recent seasons and has made several mistakes, changing coaches several times and never finding the necessary stability to fully express his talent.

At the beginning of his career, Rune was considered at the same level as Sinner and Alcaraz, but it is difficult to have the same opinion today given that the Italian has already won four Grand Slam titles and the Spaniard has won five Majors.

Rune opens up on Agassi

Holger – who also disappointed expectations at Roland Garros and the Wimbledon Championships – understood that something must change to turn his career around and practiced in Washington together with a legend like Andre Agassi, who was by his side for three days before the start of the event. The Dane was unable to participate in this tournament due to back discomfort.

In a long interview with 'Ziggo Sport' before the start of the 'Canadian Open', the former world number 4 reflected on his time together with Agassi: "It was a great experience to share the court with a tennis legend for a few days. I learned several things and we tried to understand how to perfect my tennis. Andre is very good at listening and gives great advice, which is why I am really grateful to him. It spurred me on to find more balance in my game and there I worked with maximum effort."

Rune will not have an easy debut in Toronto, as his first opponent will be French ace Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard.

Rune Working with Andre Agassi Ahead of Citi Open

Posted by on

The pair will reportedly spend three days together, according to a report by Stephanie Myles. Andre Agassi

By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Saturday July 19, 2025

Holger Rune and Andre Agassi are spending some quality time together at the Citi Open in Washington, D.C.

Tennis Express

According to Stephanie Myles of Open Court, who shot the below video, the pair are to spend three days together prepping for the ATP 500 event.

According to Myles, the pair will spend three days together in the hopes that Rune can gain some insight from the eight-time Slam champion

The Dane has had both good and bad moments this season. Famously, he defeated Carlos Alcaraz in the Barcelona final. But he's only 22-14 on the season with the one title. He reached the round of 16 at the Australian Open and Roland-Garros, but lost in the first round at Wimbledon.

Agassi has been on the scene a bit in recent months, commentating for TNT at Roland-Garros for four days, and appearing on the Andy Roddick First Serve Podcast for an in-depth interview.