Rune handles late scoring change, knocks out Bautista Agut in Montreal opener | ATP Tour

Matching Report

Rune manages a late matchup reversal, knocking Bautista Agut out of the Montreal dugout

Tiafoe meets Tabilo to close out the evening session

August 07, 2024

After withdrawing from the Olympics due to a wrist injury, Holger Rune made a successful return to competition with an opening win on Tuesday at the Omnium Banque National presented by Rogers. In his first hard court match since Miami, Rune dominated early and late in a 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 victory over lucky loser Roberto Bautista Agut.

Now 13-2 in his opening rounds this season, including 6-1 on hard courts, Rune will face Pablo Carreno Busta or Fabian Marozsan again at the Montreal ATP Masters 1000.

“It was quite a challenge,” Rune said. “It’s not easy to come back after a short break – not the longest break, but for me, I’m very young and luckily I wasn’t injured too much. It was difficult but I think I was able to find a rhythm quickly. He couldn’t keep it in the second half, he played well, he felt comfortable that he had an extra chance to play the match.

Holger is moving 🔛

Rune takes his first win in Montreal with a 6-2 3-6 6-2 win against Bautista Agut 🔥@OBNmontreal | #OBN24 pic.twitter.com/y44iEtqZWi

– ATP Tour (@atptour) August 7, 2024

A few minutes before the match, Bautista Agut replaced Milos Raonic, who withdrew due to a shoulder injury. The Spaniard played two matches and six sets on Tuesday, competing for more than five hours before losing to Thanasi Kokkinakis in the qualifier and Rune in the main draw.

“It was kind of tricky. Two completely different styles of play,” Rune said of the late change. “I had to adjust from one trick to another in five minutes. Luckily I’ve played Bautista before so I have a clue, and obviously he’s been on Tour for many years, so I know him very well.

“It was not easy. I was expecting a big server and I was trying to manage the meeting with Milos, and now it was a completely different story. I needed to attack more and play on my terms.”

Rune did just that, hitting 39 winners in the two-hour match, according to Infosys ATP Stats. The win improved his record to 2-0 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series against Bautista Agut.

In No. 17 in the PIF ATP Rankings, Rune is looking for his first title of the season this week in Montreal. His best result for 2024 is a second-place finish in Brisbane.