‘Brave’ Rune stuns Alcaraz to win Barcelona Open

Holger Rune produced a sensational performance to stun home hero Carlos Alcaraz and claim the Barcelona Open title.

Denmark’s Rune matched the Spaniard shot-for-shot and held firm in the tight moments to beat his childhood friend 7-6 (8-6) 6-2.

It is Rune’s first ATP Tour title for two years and his biggest since the Paris Masters in 2022.

Rune, forced to retire in Monte Carlo last week with illness, said afterwards he had been inspired by Novak Djokovic’s victory over Alcaraz in the Olympic final at Roland Garros.

“I told myself OK, what did Novak do when he beat him?” Rune, 21, said.

“I kind of played it in my mind, the Olympic final, and I thought to myself let’s try to play that kind of style, really make him play a lot of balls.

“I’m really happy about how I stayed composed when it really mattered. I was also very brave when it mattered.”

Alcaraz, who had been bidding for a third Barcelona title in four years, missed all four of the break opportunities he created in the second set and also required a medical timeout.

While Rune will return to the top 10 on Monday, Alcaraz will be replaced as world number two by Alexander Zverev.

Germany’s Zverev beat Ben Shelton 6-2 6-4 in the Munich Open final to claim his first title of the year on his 28th birthday.

The first set in Barcelona was a high-quality encounter between two players born just six days apart and who have been playing one another since their teens.

Alcaraz broke first, thumping his forehand with increasing ferocity, but Rune was equally impressive to immediately force the match back on serve.

Both aggressive baseliners, Alcaraz and Rune sent the ball thudding around Pista Rafael Nadal, but Rune was superior at the net, winning 12 of 16 points there.

Monte Carlo champion Alcaraz fended off four set points but a long forehand in the tie-break handed the initiative to Rune.

Again, Alcaraz had his chances, missing two break points in Rune’s first service game. But at 2-1 up, he left the court for a medical timeout, and could not find his rhythm on his return.

Rune reeled off the next five games, committing 24 unforced errors to Alcaraz’s 33, and ultimately secured victory on a missed Alcaraz forehand.

The pair are set to play in the Madrid Masters, which begins on Tuesday.

In the men’s doubles final, Britain’s Luke Johnson and Dutch partner Sander Arends triumphed 6-3 6-7 (1-7) 10-6 against Britis pair Joe Salisbury and Neal Skupski.