Holger Rune Beats Novak Djokovic Again to Reach Italian Open Semifinals

Denmark's Holger Rune (R) and Serbia's Novak Djokovic shake hands Rune won their quarterfinals match of the Men's ATP Rome Open tennis tournament at Foro Italico in Rome on May 17, 2023. (AFP)
Denmark's Holger Rune (R) and Serbia's Novak Djokovic shake hands Rune won their quarterfinals match of the Men's ATP Rome Open tennis tournament at Foro Italico in Rome on May 17, 2023. (AFP)
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Holger Rune Beats Novak Djokovic Again to Reach Italian Open Semifinals

Denmark's Holger Rune (R) and Serbia's Novak Djokovic shake hands Rune won their quarterfinals match of the Men's ATP Rome Open tennis tournament at Foro Italico in Rome on May 17, 2023. (AFP)
Denmark's Holger Rune (R) and Serbia's Novak Djokovic shake hands Rune won their quarterfinals match of the Men's ATP Rome Open tennis tournament at Foro Italico in Rome on May 17, 2023. (AFP)

Twenty-year-old Danish player Holger Rune recorded his second victory over Novak Djokovic in little more than six months, beating the 22-time Grand Slam champion 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 Wednesday to reach the Italian Open semifinals.

Rune, who also defeated Djokovic in the Paris Masters final in November, gave the Serb fits with his rapid court coverage. He made his opponent hit extra balls on points that Djokovic thought he had already finished off.

The 35-year-old Djokovic didn’t appear at his best physically early on and called for a trainer after holding for a 2-1 lead in the second set. It wasn’t immediately clear what the issue was but it appeared that Djokovic swallowed a pill that the trainer gave him.

Djokovic recently returned after three weeks off because of a lingering issue with his surgically repaired right elbow. He’s preparing for the French Open, which starts in 11 days.

Rune, meanwhile, is boosting his credentials as a Grand Slam contender after a solid season on clay that included a runner-up finish in the Monte Carlo Masters, a title in Munich, and now a semifinal spot in Rome in his first main draw appearance.

Djokovic stormed out to a 5-2 lead in the second but Rune rallied back, winning a 34-shot rally with a sublime backhand drop-shot winner to set up a key break.

Rune also called for a trainer late in the second set to have his right leg treated, shortly before the match was suspended because of rain with Rune serving to stay in the set at 4-5, 0-30.

After a suspension of more than an hour, Djokovic won two straight points to break Rune’s serve and take the second set.

Rune then broke Djokovic’s serve twice early in the third.

Djokovic has won the Italian Open six times, including last year, and failed to reach the final only once in eight previous editions — when he was beaten by Rafael Nadal in the semifinals in 2018.

Nadal, who holds the record of 10 titles in Rome, is not playing as he remains hampered by a nagging hip injury, leaving his status for Roland Garros in question.

With Djokovic out of the draw, an 18-year streak of either him or Nadal playing in the Rome final ends.

Djokovic will also lose the No. 1 ranking to Carlos Alcaraz, another 20-year-old player, next week — even though Alcaraz was beaten by 135th-ranked Hungarian qualifier Fabian Marozsan in the third round on Monday.

Rune’s semifinal opponent will be either Casper Ruud or Francisco Cerundolo, who were scheduled to play later.

In the women’s quarterfinals, two-time defending champion Iga Swiatek was up against Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina and 2017 French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko was facing Paula Badosa.

Rune, who is known for his fiery behavior, got into a heated exchange with the chair umpire about a disputed call during the second set. When the umpire refused to change the call despite Rune saying that the mark on the clay showed that Djokovic’s shot was out, he lost his cool.

“Do you get punished when you make mistakes? You don’t. So please respect the player,” Rune said to the umpire, Mohamed Lahyani. “It’s an absolute joke.”

As Rune’s coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, motioned from the stands for his player to calm down, Rune then said to nobody in particular, “It’s always the umpire who makes me look like the bad guy.”

Early in the third, Djokovic grew frustrated with Lahyani because of the way he was announcing the score between Italian and English, and when the service shot clock started.



Man City's Third-placed Finish May be Better Achievement than Title Win, Guardiola Says

Soccer Football - Reuters Exclusive interview with Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola - Barcelona, Spain - June 4, 2025 Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola talks during an interview with Reuters TV in Barcelona REUTERS/Nacho Doce
Soccer Football - Reuters Exclusive interview with Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola - Barcelona, Spain - June 4, 2025 Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola talks during an interview with Reuters TV in Barcelona REUTERS/Nacho Doce
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Man City's Third-placed Finish May be Better Achievement than Title Win, Guardiola Says

Soccer Football - Reuters Exclusive interview with Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola - Barcelona, Spain - June 4, 2025 Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola talks during an interview with Reuters TV in Barcelona REUTERS/Nacho Doce
Soccer Football - Reuters Exclusive interview with Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola - Barcelona, Spain - June 4, 2025 Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola talks during an interview with Reuters TV in Barcelona REUTERS/Nacho Doce

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola described his team's first trophyless campaign since 2017 as a season of growth and reflection, dismissing notions of failure and suggesting it may have been a greater achievement than a previous title win.

"I want to suffer when I'm not winning games," Guardiola told Reuters in an exclusive interview. "I want to feel bad. I want to sleep badly. I want that when the situation goes bad, it affects me... I want that!

“I'm angry... my food, it tastes worse... I don't need to eat much because I need to feel that (anger).

Because if it doesn't, what sense would it have? Winning or losing... We're here in this world to feel different experiences, different moods.”

The 54-year-old, who has won 12 domestic top-flight league titles across Spain, Germany and England, spoke about last season's challenges, which saw City finish third in the Premier League and fail to secure silverware in domestic or European competitions. It marked only the second trophyless season of his managerial career.

Guardiola rejected the idea that the season was disastrous, instead arguing that it may have been the most valuable of his tenure at City.

"You judge happiness if you win. You judge success if you win and win. And that is a problem," he said.

“I will not judge myself or my team because of bad seasons or good seasons... Maybe finishing third in a season and never giving up otherwise you finish 10th or 12th, maybe that's a better season than when we won the fourth Premier League in a row.

“We faced so many difficulties that were higher due to injuries, relaxation, I was not good enough... for many reasons. Maybe the analysis about my period is that the last season was better. Qualifying for the Champions League when we were on the verge of not getting it.

'WINNERS ARE BORING'

Reflecting on setbacks, Guardiola quoted former Uruguayan President Jose Mujica: "Success is how many times you stand up when you fall down." He added: "Fall down, stand up. Fall down, stand up... That is the biggest success."

"Winners are boring," he said, adding that he always looked forward to post-match interviews with players and coaches from losing sides. "It's nice to see the losers. That is when you really learn."

Despite his remarkable record, Guardiola dismissed any notion of exceptionalism.

"Do you think I feel special because I won a lot of titles? No! Forget about it!" he said. "I feel that special is the doctor that saves lives. The people who invented penicillin. That is a genius. Me? Genius? Come on."

“I don't want to pretend to be humble: of course I'm good! I'm proving that over many years I'm good... But the success I had, I was chosen. In certain moments, to lead Lionel Messi and the other ones, to be in those type of places I made incredible teams... But other managers, in the right moment, in that position, maybe they could have done the same.”

Looking ahead to the upcoming season and the Club World Cup, Guardiola emphasised the importance of team spirit. "Play good. Create a good vibe, good team spirit... Try to make the new players bring us an energy that we need to lift the team again. And at the end, we can lift trophies," he said.

Guardiola also reflected on the pressures of public-facing jobs with constant scrutiny.

“The stress is always there because you are being judged every single day, but it is what it is," he said.

“Nobody put a gun to my head forcing me to choose this job. I have chosen that... There is no professional in football that wins all the time, because it's simply impossible. So, it happened last season... you accept it, improve, learn and there will be good learnings for the future."