Holger Rune has moved on to the third round of the Canadian Open after defeating Giovanni Mpetshi-Perricard.
Rune had to work hard for his straight sets victory, but ultimately came through the contest by a scoreline of 7-6 6-3.
The Dane, currently ranked ninth in the world, has struggled for form in 2025, recently losing in the first round of Wimbledon and withdrawing from the Washington Open.
However, he has always performed well on hard courts. With the American hard-court swing well underway, this period could present the perfect opportunity for Rune to turn his season around.
Following his victory over the Frenchman, Jon Wertheim and the Tennis Channel crew discussed the Dane’s impressive performance.
Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty ImagesHolger Rune’s visualisation exercises
Speaking on the Tennis Channel Live Podcast, host Jon Wertheim assessed Rune’s performance, describing it as possibly ‘the best match of his career.’
Wertheim, who also co-hosts ‘Served with Andy Roddick’, said: “Steve [co-host], what did Andre Agassi tell Holger Rune? This may be the best match of his career.
“We’re going stat of the day a little bit early. How about this? Holger Rune, 12 aces, Perricard, only seven.
“Holger Rune, 86 per cent of his second serve points won. Again small sample size of an opponent who doesn’t return well. But boy, Holger Rune was just spectacular yesterday, beating a potentially tough opponent.
“Andre Agassi you’re 1-0 as mystic, as Merlin, as Holger Rune was just extraordinary, winning in straight sets.
Wertheim was later asked about what Holger Rune had proven to him after defeating Mpetshi-Perricard. Wertheim noted Rune’s use of visualisation exercises before matches and a new sense of professionalism being adopted by the 22-year-old.
Wertheim added: “I mean again, let’s not read too much into one match against an extraordinary, sort of a unicorn player. But that serving was just tremendous, and yeah, waking up to do visualisation exercises, that’s not necessarily the sort of ‘professionalisation’ we normally associate with Holger Rune.
“Is he still a top five player two years ago? So he’s only 22 years old. A lot of upside here and we’ll see. I mean it’s one match, let’s not read too much into it. But boy, this does seem to be a bit of a turn of a corner here for Holger Rune.”
Rune faces Alexandre Muller next
Next up for Holger Rune at the Canadian Open is Alexandre Muller.
The Frenchman will provide a stern test for Rune. After all, he pushed Novak Djokovic to four sets in the Wimbledon first round.
Photo by Marleen Fouchier/BSR Agency/Getty Images
Rune’s tough draw shows no signs of letting up when checking his potential fourth round opponents. He could face either former world number one Daniil Medvedev or defending Canadian Open champion Alexei Popyrin.
If Rune is to perform well and reach the quarter-final stage, he could face number one seed Alexander Zverev.