2022 champ Holger Rune closes in on last eight at Rolex Paris Masters

Holger Rune is showing signs of the form that took him to the Rolex Paris Masters title in 2022, the No. 13 seed easing past Alexander Bublik, 6-4, 6-2 on Wednesday.

“I always enjoy playing in Paris,” Rune told Prakash Amritraj following his first-round win at the Tennis Channel Live Desk, “whether it’s for the French Open or in Paris-Bercy. I have good memories, so very blessed to be back.”

A former world No. 4, Rune burst onto the scene at this very tournament two years ago, defeating five Top 10 players to win the title and shocking then-No. 1 Novak Djokovic in the final. Struggling with injuries and inconsistency in the 24 months since, Rune has an opportunity for another deep run in Paris-Bercy after quieting his entertaining opposition in 70 minutes flat.

“I remember every moment from 2022, from the first match against Stan [Wawrinka] to the last round against Novak. Looking ahead of this tournament, I’m just trying to bring my best tennis. I’m enjoying the conditions here. Court 1 is a little different from Center Court; I think it’s pretty much the same, but the atmosphere’s a bit different. But I have good experience on both of the courts!”

At 21, Rune is part of a next generation that includes Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, but the Dane is yet to match his colleagues on the Grand Slam stage, reaching two major quarterfinals in 2023 but failing to replicate that form in 2024. After falling out of the Top 10 in April and splitting with coaches Boris Becker and Patrick Mouratoglou, he reunited with former coach Lars Christensen made an encouraging run to the semifinals at the Cincinnati Open ahead of the US Open—his best Masters 1000 result of the season.

“You cannot call it a bad season, really,” Rune insisted “It’s been a decent season. It’s not been the best one, but I can finish it calling it a good one if I do well here in Paris. It’s been consistent, not anything ‘Wow!’ from my side, but I’m trying to build my level.”

The fall swing has seen Rune post better results with two more semifinals in Tokyo and Basel, and Rune found himself in a fortuitous section of the Paris-Bercy draw following the late withdrawal of top-seeded Sinner. Opening with a straight-sets victory over Matteo Arnaldi, Rune took the court for an intriguing second round against Bublik, who snapped a four-match losing streak in his first round against Fabio Fognini.

Ranked as high as No. 17 in the ATP rankings—but ranked far higher when it comes to post-match interviews—Bublik has shown highlight-reel worthy brilliance on the court since turning pro in 2016 but can be prone to low lows to match those high highs.

The match began breezily as both men made straightforward service holds, but the turning point ultimately came in the ninth game, when Rune held the course through six deuces to score the first break of the match off an ill-timed double fault.

Rune rode that momentum though a final hold to take the opening set and opened up a 2-0 lead in the second. Bublik threatened to level the set at two games apiece but Rune again showed superior focus and turned the tables in the very next game, earning a double-break advantage.

With the match on his racquet, Rune served out victory on his first match point to book a third-round clash against either lucky loser Arthur Cazaux or Basel finalist Ben Shelton. Rune won his only previous match against Shelton in 2023 but lost to Cazaux earlier this season at the Australian Open.