Rune channels inner Djokovic to beat Alcaraz for Barcelona title: “I played the Olympic final back in my mind”
The Dane said he used the same tactics Djokovic utlised to get the gold medal
Holger Rune – Gepa / Panoramic
Holger Rune said he channelled his “inner Novak Djokovic” in order to get the better of Carlos Alcaraz in the final of the Barcelona Open on Sunday.
The Dane recovered from an early break down to deny the Spaniard on home soil for his fifth career title, a 7-6 (6), 6-2 win as impressive as it sounds.
But Rune, who will be back inside the top 10 on Monday, said he turned his mind back to the way Djokovic had overcome Alcaraz in the Olympic final last summer.
“At the beginning, when I was broken, I was thinking, wow, how I can I beat him,” Rune said. “I told myself OK, what did Novak do when he beat him. I kind of played it back in my mind, that Olympic final?
“I was watching all of it when they played, amazing match, and I thought, OK, let’s try to play that kind of style, really make him play a lot of balls. I’m really happy how I stayed composed when it mattered and I was also very brave when it mattered.”
Rune said putting more balls into court, rally after rally, was the key to his success, even if Alcaraz looked a little below-par after having treatment in the second set, seemingly for a leg issue.
“I thought I don’t need to hit every ball on the line,” he said. “I’m really proud of how I played. This means the world to me.”
