Holger Rune shattered Japanese hopes of a homegrown champion by saving a match point to beat veteran Kei Nishikori in Tokyo.
Denmark’s Holger Rune continued his search for a first ATP title of the year in Tokyo with a comeback victory over home favorite Kei Nishikori.
The Japanese veteran moved more than 350 positions back up to 222nd in the ATP rankings after defeating Stefanos Tsitsipas in Montreal, and has since broken back into the top 200.
The former world number four had a match point at 3-5 in the deciding set but failed to take the opportunity – a chance he would later rue.
Rune rallied back to take the third set 7-5 and edge one step closer to his second ATP tour level final of the year.
Holger Rune admits ‘very challenging’ match after ‘incredible’ Kei Nishikori display
Nishikori won the Japan Open 12 years ago when Rune was just nine-years-old – In doing so, becoming the first Japanese man to win the tournament in its history.
Revered on the ATP tour despite his recent two-year break, Nishikori has been reliving his fine form of old on the hard-courts this summer.
Having advanced past another record-breaking veteran Marin Cilic in the opening round, he saw off world number 29, Australia’s Jordan Thompson, in straight sets to progress to the last eight.
With the 34-year-old nearly causing yet another upset, Rune admitted to the ATP: “His ball striking and feel on the ball was incredible and it was very challenging for me.
“I had to find another gear to be able to beat him and it was almost not enough,” Rune continued. “But I managed to find that level and find that fighting spirit to beat him.”
Set to play France’s Arthur Fils, who ended Ben Shelton’s title defense in a marathon three-sets, Rune may once again have his work cut out if he is to progress to the final.
Holger Rune needs an ATP title if only to prove he can still compete
There never seems a straightforward season for the 21-year-old, who continues to be spoken about exclusively as a ‘potential’.
His astonishing run at the Paris Masters where he defeated five top 10 players consecutively, including Novak Djokovic in the final, has often muddied the water of what kind of player Rune actually is.
Plagued by injuries and coaching upheaval, Rune finally parted ways with Patrick Mourtagolou, who has since joined forces with Naomi Osaka.
Having made the final in Brisbane at the start of the year, Rune lost to Grigor Dimitrov. The Dane also squandered a 5-2 lead in the Cincinnati semi-finals to Frances Tiafoe as he endured yet another confidence blow.
Seemingly now with a bit more stability and a new coaching set-up, you feel that Rune might just need that winning feeling again in order to really progress and get his mojo back.
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