ATP Tournament in Rotterdam, 1st Round, Wednesday, 15.02.2023
On Wednesday, Holger Rune’s first match at the ATP 500 Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam is scheduled. He will play the Frenchman Constant Lestienne on the hard court.
The 19-year-old Dane, who attracted attention at the latest after his success against Alexander Zverev in Munich 2022, will meet Lestienne for the second time. Can he take revenge for the last 0:2 in sets? Read more in our Rune Lestienne tip.
Holger Rune is a high-flyer. Since the ATP tournament in Munich at the latest, the young Dane has been the talk of the tennis experts. He knocked local hero Alexander Zverev off the court with 6:3 and 6:2.
I watched the match myself from the stands and was surprised and thrilled by the sovereign performance. The triumph in Munich without losing a set was just the beginning.
The highlight was the victory at the 1000 tournament in Paris. The 1.88 metre man defeated Novak Djokovic in the final. Before that, he already eliminated big names like Felix Auger-Aliassime and Carlos Alcaraz.
The success in November was followed by a two-month break from competition for the world number nine. At the Australian Open, he made it to round four.
In a gripping five-set thriller, he finally had to concede defeat to Andrey Rublev.
Last week he reached the semi-finals in Montpellier. After straight wins over Marc-Andrea Hüsler and Gregoire Barrere, it was all over against Maxime Cressy (5-7, 7-6, 6-7).
This week, Lestienne is a more pleasant task on paper. At least as far as his own return game is concerned.
Because his opponent, at 1.80 metres, is 19 centimetres shorter than service ace Cressy.
And once Rune is able to get into a rally, it is already dangerous for his opponent.
His variable game of powerful strokes and stops always poses a challenge to his opponents.
Lestienne should fancy his chances when the 19-year-old loses his nerve and starts to fight more with his emotions than with his opponent.
But they are very slim according to the bookmakers. Rune is seen as the clear favourite with odds in the 1.15 range. A fivefold increase in the stakes awaits if Lestienne pulls off a surprise.
However, the Frenchman should not be underestimated as he is ranked 54th in the world. He proved impressively in the qualifiers that he feels at home in Rotterdam.
He won 2-0 against Nikolos Basilashvilli, who defeated him in Montpellier last week, and one day earlier he beat Maximilian Marterer from Germany in two tiebreaks.
It is clear, however, that a much tougher task now awaits Rune and the Frenchman’s results against other top players look poor.
At the Australian Open, he lost 3-1 to Cameron Norrie. In matches against Daniel Evans and Novak Djokovic, he left the court without a set.
In the defeat against Basilashvilli, the 250 tournament was already over for him after one round in Montpellier.
In the only meeting between Rune and Lestienne, the latter was 2-0 ahead (6-4, 6-3), but the Dane was only 16 years old at the time.
In the meantime, he has made quantum leaps forward in terms of his game and has developed massively physically, especially in terms of his muscles.
Although Constant Lestienne should by no means be underestimated, I see a clear result in the sixteenth final in Rotterdam against Holger Rune.
Anyone who is not a service specialist on the hard court will have to tremble against the tricky Dane. And the Frenchman is definitely not one of them.
Therefore, I see a clear 2:0 in sets for Holger Rune.
