Rune defeats Berrettini to reach the third round of the Australian Open

This was one of the great matches of the second round of the Australian Open.

Number 13 seed Holger Rune challenged Matteo Berrettini, a former Grand Slam finalist and semi-finalist at the same Australian tournament three years ago.

The Italian gained in confidence at the start of the tournament with a four-set victory over Cameron Norrie.

For his part, Rune, eliminated by Arthur Cazaux in the second round at Melbourne 2024, knocked out Zhang Zhizhen in five tight sets.

The Dane had won his last three encounters with his opponent of the day, and was hoping to make it four in a row.

Despite an air pocket in the second set, Rune was more solid in the important moments, notably in the fourth set tiebreak.

Trailing 5-2 with two service points to follow for Berrettini, Holger Rune tightened up at the right moment, also taking advantage of the Italian's gifts to come back.

On his second match point, the Dane won (7-6, 2-6, 6-3, 7-6) with a final attack at the net.

Rune, a finalist two years ago at Melbourne Park, can at least match his best performance in this tournament if he beats Miomir Kecmanovic in the next round. The Serb, for his part, eliminated Hubert Hurkacz in three sets (6-4, 6-4, 6-2).