World No.6 Holger Rune has described winning his first grass-court match on the ATP Tour at the Cinch Championships on Tuesday as ‘special.’
Rune, who is seeded second in the draw at Queen’s, overcame an early blip to defeat world No.42 Maxime Cressy 7-6(4), 7-6(3). Coming into the match, the Dane was 0-3 on the surface after failing to register any wins on the grass last season. However, he managed to get the better of an at-times erratic Cressy with the help of 32 winners. Overall, it is his 31st Tour win of the season.
“I’m very pleased,” Rune said during his on-court interview. “It is always special with your first win on any surface.”
“I feel very good. I had to adjust at the beginning after he came out strong. I played three days on the grass before this match so I had to be ready to adjust. I’m super happy that I found my way to win.” He added.
Rune, who was playing in his first match since reaching the quarter-finals of the French Open, came undone in the fourth game. After working his way to 40-15, a series of unforced errors from the 20-year-old opened the door for his opponent who broke for a 3-1 lead. Then at 5-3, it was Cressy’s turn to have a nightmare service game with the American hitting three consecutive double faults followed by a forehand error to lose his break advantage. With little to separate the two, in the tiebreaker Rune clinched the mini-break at 4-4 after his opponent produced yet another unforced error. He then held his serve in the next two points to snatch the lead.
The closely fought encounter continued into the second frame with 12 consecutive holds of serve. Although it was a far from straightforward encounter for Rune who saved a break point at 4-4 and then two more at 5-5. Closing in on victory, he earned his first match point when leading 6-5 at the expense of a Cressy double fault but failed to convert that opportunity. However, Rune prevailed in the second tiebreaker with the help of yet another double fault from across the court.
“It’s very difficult, especially on grass,” he commented on his opponent’s serve and volley game. “The ball goes extremely fast and he comes forward which puts a lot of pressure on me. I have to serve good because if I get broken I am in trouble like I was in the first set.’
“I had to stay focused and play my best tennis. It is getting better and better so I’m happy.”
Cressy continues his hunt for form heading into Wimbledon after what has been a difficult past few weeks for the American. He is now on an 11-match losing streak with his last victory occurring in February at the Marseille Open. Earlier this year he reached his fourth ATP Final in Montpellier.
Rune will next play British wildcard Ryan Peniston who beat Ugo Humbert in straight sets on Monday. Peniston is currently ranked outside of the top 200 but reached the quarter-finals of Queen’s 12 months ago and also beat Rune at Eastbourne that same year.
“It’s always a challenge to play a home player but hopefully the support will be good for both players,” Rune concluded.
