Holger Rune stuns Carlos Alcaraz to win Barcelona Open and end two-year trophy drought

By Ben Morse, CNN

(CNN) — Holger Rune stunned Carlos Alcaraz to win the Barcelona Open on Sunday and end his two-year trophy drought.

The Danish player won 7-6 (6), 6-2 in Sunday’s final on Pista Rafa Nadal, ending Alcaraz’s nine-matching winning streak in the process.

The Barcelona Open trophy is Rune’s fifth ATP Tour title and first since 2023.

“It means the world, it was such a great match,” Rune said afterwards. “In the beginning, I was a little bit stressed because Carlos obviously 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. The first set was a big battle, it was super important to win it and gain the momentum. I’m so proud of myself.”

Alcaraz entered the final as the heavy favorite, having established himself as one of tennis’ most dominant clay court players and having beaten defending champion Casper Ruud in the quarterfinals.

The match was the first tour-level final between two players aged 21-or-under since 2022 and it was Rune who fell behind early on.

He was quickly broken by Alcaraz, playing in front of a partisan crowd, but rallied impressively to fight his way back into the match.

Rune won eight consecutive points to go from being a break down to moving ahead. He had two set points but Alcaraz was able to repel them in brilliant fashion.

And having gone to a tie break, it was Rune who came out on top in the first, with Alcaraz hitting his 10th forehand unforced error of the set.

“When I got broken in the first set, I thought to myself that I don’t need to hit every shot on the line,” Rune said afterwards. “So I (asked) myself: ‘What did Novak (Djokovic) do when he beat him?’ I played it in my mind, the Olympics final, and tried to play that style, making a lot of balls. I’m very happy with how I stayed composed when it mattered, and I was really brave.”

In the second set, Alcaraz took an off-court medical timeout in the third game – twice taking treatment during the match for an ailment on his right leg – and couldn’t regain his rhythm against a pumped-up Rune.

Rune saved all four of the break points against him in the second set as the Danish player didn’t drop another game to emphatically claim the Barcelona Open title.

With the result, Rune returns to the top 10 of the men’s world rankings.

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