Holger Rune wants to challenge Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner for notable titles in the upcoming years. However, the Dane has to reach them first! The young gun experienced a heavy loss in the Cincinnati Masters quarter-final.
World no. 136 Terence Atmane scored a dominant 6-2, 6-3 victory in an hour and 17 minutes, outplaying a top-10 rival in every department. Former pro, Julien Varlet, did not like what he saw from Rune.
Julien called Holger's performance pathetic in the tactical aspect, as he could not understand how a player of his qualities could play so poorly.
Atmane is enjoying a tournament of his life. He qualified for the main draw and defeated Flavio Cobolli, Joao Fonseca, Taylor Fritz and Holger Rune for a place in his first Masters 1000 semi-final at 23.
The Frenchman made the difference behind the first serve and got broken once from two chances offered to his opponent. Rune could not follow that pace, giving away 47% of the points on serve and getting broken four times from 11 chances presented to his rival.
Terence controlled his shots and hit 22 winners and 18 unforced errors. He landed more service winners than the better-ranked opponent and took charge in the shortest and mid-range exchanges.
Holger faced issues on serve already in the fourth game of the duel. He squandered four game points and lost serve on the fifth break point following a loose forehand.
Atmane served well and made another push on the return at 5-2. Rune offered him a set point and sprayed another forehand mistake, dropping the first part of the duel 6-2 in 36 minutes.
The Dane grabbed his break at the beginning of the second set and held for a 2-0 advantage. However, he faded from the court after that! A left-hander erased the deficit with a break in game four.
A qualifier made another push on the return in game eight and seized the third set point with a forehand winner that sent him 5-3 in front. World no. 136 served for his second consecutive top-10 victory in game nine and hit a forehand winner on a match point.
"I think tactically, Holger's performance was incredibly poor - it was pathetic. I do not understand how a player with his qualities plays so poorly tactically.
Just as Terence prepared for his match and said to himself, 'This is how I have to play.' It's just crazy," Julien Varlet said.
