A few days after his title in Barcelona, Rune forced to retire in Madrid

Fresh off his victory at the Barcelona tournament, Holger Rune had left his fans optimistic for the rest of the clay-court season.

After returning to excellent form in Catalonia, the Dane couldn’t carry that momentum into Madrid. He faced Flavio Cobolli tonight in his opening match. Struggling with a right leg injury, he was forced to retire after losing the first set 6-2.

This marks Rune’s third retirement of the year, following Acapulco and Monte-Carlo. Cobolli, now through to the third round, will face Brandon Nakashima.