Unexpectedly, Holger Rune, the eighth-ranked player in the world, lost in the second round of the Australian Open 2024.
The 21-year-old Frenchman Arthur Cazaux, who is presently rated 122nd in the ATP rankings, defeated the Danish tennis player.
There were no games lost by either player on their serves in the first set, and Cazaux won the tiebreaker 7:4. The Frenchman won the second set 6:4 after that.
Rune made an effort to win the third set 6:3, managing to reverse the trend. But even so, Cazaux made a splash by winning the decisive set 6:3.
This is the pinnacle of Cazaux’s professional accomplishments. He had never advanced past the first round of a Grand Slam tournament before.
Cazaux will play the 28th-seeded Dutch player, Tallon Griekspoor, in the following round.
In recent times, Holger Rune’s rise to prominence has made Novak Djokovic more of a threat, as the two have already faced off multiple times. Everything you need to know about the two men’s struggles is provided here.
After five ATP Tour meetings between Djokovic and Runde, the young Dane has discovered a way to severely disrupt the 24-time Grand Slam champion.
They have faced off five matches thus far, with Djokovic leading the head-to-head record 3-2.
The first one was won by Djokovic back in 2021 when he defeated Rune in four sets at the US Open. However, Rune shocked Djokovic in the Paris Masters final in 2022 and again in Rome in 2023 before Djokovic leveled the score with a revenge victory in Paris.
Djokovic most recently demonstrated his supremacy at the Nitto ATP Finals 2023, taking the title with victories of 7-6 (4), 6-7 (1), and 6-3 to end the year at #1.
Even though Rune shocked everyone by defeating Djokovic in Paris in 2022, the Serb was not playing at his most deadly level at that point in the week and was somewhat broken.
However, when they faced off in the quarterfinals of the same event in 2023, both men reached new heights in an intense and exciting battle. Rune appeared to be winning it in straight sets, but Djokovic won the second set in a tiebreak and the third with a slight advantage.
