With most of the seeds in the field eliminated in the early rounds of the Brisbane International, the organisers will be delighted that their top two in the draw have made it to the final as expected.
I managed to close it out in two sets, which is good for the energy. I’m playing better tennis every day and physically I’m feeling great, so I’m happy Holger Rune
The 20 year-old top seeded Dane, Holger Rune proved too resilient for Roman Safiullin, defeating the Russian 6-4 7-6(0) in the first of the semi-finals, setting up an intriguing final against the second seeded Grigor Dimitrov, 32, of Bulgaria who in turn beat Jordan Thompson 6-3 7-5, the Australian who ousted Rafa Nadal after saving three match points against him in the quarters.
Rune notched the only break of the opening set in the first game inside the Pat Rafter Arena and then won the final eight points of the match to clinch his semi-final triumph.
“It was a good match,” a satisfied Rune said after the 97-minute match. “I started very well, broke him in the first game of the match to immediately put that pressure on him and then (in the) second set I got the early break again. He broke me back and it was a bit of a tighter set but I managed to stay with some good tennis in the tie-break when it mattered.”
“I think I did well to be honest. When he was hitting hard I was there with some good counter-punches,” Rune added on reaching his ninth tour-level final.
“I managed to close it out in two sets, which is good for the energy. I’m playing better tennis every day and physically I’m feeling great, so I’m happy.”
World No 8-ranked Rune will be aiming for a fifth title on the ATP tour when he faces Dimitrov on Sunday.
“It’s exactly how I wanted it to be, to get the most amount of matches as possible, Tomorrow will see where I’m at when it really matters.”
Meanwhile, since opening with a tough win over Andy Murray, the 2017 Brisbane champion Dimitrov has only conceded eight games.
Dimitrov, the world No.14, is chasing his first ATP Tour title since 2017, required 109-minutes to dispatch Thompson who was on a high following his emotional win over Nadal 24-hours earlier.
A single break of serve in each set was enough for the Bulgarian to seal his win, saving all six break points he faced.
Grigor Dimitrov looking to reclaim the title
(Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)
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