Holger Rune has stunned home-crowd favourite Carlos Alcaraz in straight sets to win the Barcelona Open for his first title since 2023.
Rune defeated the Spaniard 7-6(6), 6-2 for his first title since winning in Munich two years ago, his fifth overall, and his first ATP 500 title.
"It means the world," Rune said. "It was such a great match.
"In the beginning, I was a little bit stressed, because Carlos obviously plays big-time tennis. I had to breathe a lot and find my rhythm.
"After he broke me, I got more into the match and played my tennis. The first set was a big battle, it was super important to win it and gain the momentum. I'm so proud of myself."
Alcaraz was coming off a nine-match winning streak that included his first Monte Carlo Masters title last weekend.
That title in Monaco was part of a brilliant run on clay dating back to Alcaraz's run to the French Open crown last year, with the Spaniard winning 21 of his past 22 matches on the surface leading into the Barcelona final.
The only match he lost during that streak was the epic Paris Olympics final at Roland Garros against Novak Djokovic. Rune said he looked to the Serb for inspiration.
"I told myself, 'What did Novak do when he beat him?'" he said.
"I kind of played it in my mind, the Olympic final. I was watching when they played. Amazing match. I thought to myself, 'OK, let's try to play that kind of style,' really make him play a lot of balls.
"I'm very happy [with] how I stayed composed when it really mattered. I was also very brave when it mattered."
Alcaraz was searching for his third title of the year and 19th of his career. He won the Barcelona Open in 2022 and 2023 but missed last year, meaning he was on a 14-match winning streak at the tournament, including two wins over Australian number one Alex de Minaur.
Rune, who left in tears after finishing runner-up to Jack Draper at Indian Wells in March, rallied from a break down in the opening set and converted his fourth set point before cruising through the second set against Alcaraz, who twice needed treatment on his upper right leg.
It was the first ATP tour-level final between two players aged 21 or younger since 2022.
"We've been playing each other since [we were] 12 years old. Time flies," Alcaraz told his fellow 21-year-old.
"I'm really happy to see us in this position, how far we've [come]. Keep going."
Alcaraz will lose his world-number-two ranking to Alexander Zverev, who won his third Munich title with a comprehensive 6-2, 6-4 victory over American Ben Shelton.
Rune will return to the top 10 for the first time in over a year, moving up to number nine as the clay-court season continues with the Madrid Open this week.
AP/ABC
