Top seed Rune escapes late jam to win Stockholm opener
Holger Rune made a smooth start to his BNP Paribas Nordic Open campaign, beating Marton Fucsovics 6-4, 6-4 on Thursday in Stockholm. Through to his third consecutive ATP Tour quarter-final, Rune will next take on Tomas Martin Etcheverry, a 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 winner against Miomir Kecmanovic.
Rune, who won his first hard-court title at the Stockholm ATP 250 in 2022, is seeking his second trophy of 2025 after his clay triumph in Barcelona — a result that would see him leapfrog Casper Ruud for 11th place in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin.
The Dane improved to 2-0 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series against Fucsovics by wriggling out of 15/40 to serve out the match on centre court. Rune saved eight of nine break points, according to Infosys ATP Stats, with Fucsovics’ lone break proving harmless at 5-2 in the opening set.
“He was really swinging through the ball so I had to play very well,” Rune said of his opponent’s late charge. “I had to step up at the end because he was not going to hand it to me. It was difficult to close it out but obviously very happy with my performance. It was a great match I think for both of us.”
Earlier on Thursday in Stockholm, fourth seed Ugo Humbert edged Matteo Berrettini, 7-6(5), 6-3. The Frenchman converted on both of his break chances and did not face a break point on his own serve.
Through to his fourth quarter-final of the season, Humbert will seek to make it a perfect 4-0 at that stage when he takes on Lorenzo Sonego. He is 11-1 in his past 12 indoor matches, behind runs to the Paris Rolex Masters final last year and the Marseille title earlier this season.
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