#NextGenATP Dane Holger Rune reached his third tour-level final of the season Saturday when he edged Alex de Minaur 4-6, 7-6(1), 7-5 at the Stockholm Open.
The 19-year-old showed his fighting qualities as he battled from a set and a break down against the Australian to advance at the ATP 250 event after two hours and 52 minutes. Rune has now won his past five matches that have gone to a deciding set. He overcame Cameron Norrie in three sets in the quarter-finals in Stockholm.
“It was a brutal match from the beginning to the end,” Rune said in his on-court interview. “Super long rallies. Really exhausting. He takes the ball super early and puts you under a lot of pressure but I am super happy I was able to raise my level towards the end of the second set and I started a bit better than expected in the third. I am super happy with how I fought until the end.”
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In an attacking performance, the Dane stepped inside the baseline and fired 45 winners to earn his 28th tour-level win of the season. Rune, currently No. 24 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings, will face Stefanos Tsitsipas in the championship match after the top seed defeated Finn Emil Ruusuvuori 6-2, 6-2.
Earlier this season, he captured his maiden tour-level title in Munich before he advanced to the final in Sofia. Rune will compete at the Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals in November, having qualified last month.
De Minaur was aiming to reach his second tour-level final of the season after winning the title in Atlanta.
