The accomplishments are adding up for Holger Rune.
The Danish #NextGenATP star earned his first ATP Masters 1000 main draw win on Friday with a 6-3, 6-2 victory in 61 minutes against Frenchman Ugo Humbert to reach the second round of the BNP Paribas Open. The 18-year-old qualified in the California desert, where he has now won three matches since arriving.
“It feels amazing. It was a great match. Ugo is a difficult opponent. He can play some unbelievable tennis. He beat Medvedev this year, the best player in the world, so he definitely has a level that is good,” Rune said. “But I also know he lost a lot of matches, so he’s maybe not the [most] confident and I think I used that in my favour to play aggressive, to really keep him playing every shot and every ball.
“I did that well from the beginning, starting out strong. [It was a] great crowd out there, so I’m super happy with the first victory.”
Rune, who did not face a break point against Humbert, will now face an even bigger challenge against sixth seed Matteo Berrettini. The Dane lost his only previous match against a Top 10 opponent in four sets in the first round of last year’s US Open against Novak Djokovic.
“Next match is a huge test against Berrettini, so it’s going to be fun to see how it’s going to go,” Rune said. “For sure he’s a great player, one of the best in the world right now, so it’s going to be fun. Let’s see what happens.”
In the same section of the draw, Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic clawed past Briton Liam Broady 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 after two hours and 14 minutes. The 22-year-old has now won at least one match at all six tournaments he has played this season. Kecmanovic will next face 24th seed Marin Cilic.