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Holger Rune had just broken into the Top 150 of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings before his first meeting with Novak Djokovic at the 2021 US Open. Now, the 19-year-old Dane has a chance to make his Top 10 debut with a win against the Serbian in Sunday's Rolex Paris Masters final (3pm CET/9am ET).

The #NextGenATP star has shown that the future is now by reaching four straight finals during the indoor season, and he rides an 18-2 record during that stretch into his clash with Djokovic. After snapping Felix Auger-Aliassime's 16-match win streak in the semis, the Stockholm champion will seek his fifth Top 10 win in as many days in his first ATP Masters 1000 final. He will need to end Djokovic's twin 13-match winning runs to earn it, with the Serbian streaking both in Paris — where he won the title in both 2019 and 2021 — and overall.

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With wins against Hubert Hurkacz, Andrey Rublev, Carlos Alcaraz and Auger-Aliassime on the week, Rune has soared six spots to No. 12 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings. Victory against Djokovic would also move him into 10th place in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin, which would make him the fist alternate at the Nitto ATP Finals.

Defending Paris champ Djokovic, who dropped a set to Rune in their US Open first-round meeting, has seen the Dane's rise first-hand.

Ivan Dodig and Austin Krajicek clinched the last spot at the Nitto ATP Finals on Saturday following a late-season surge. The Croatian-American duo will compete at the Pala Alpitour in Turin from 13-20 November.

Since arriving in Florence in October they have won 14 of their 15 matches to earn their place at the season finale. The pair defeated Kevin Krawietz and Andreas Mies in the Rolex Paris Masters semi-finals to guarantee their qualification.

Dodig and Krajicek first partnered in April in Belgrade before triumphing in Lyon. They then advanced to the final at Roland Garros final, where they defeated fellow Turin qualifiers Rajeev Ram/Joe Salisbury and Marcel Granollers/Horacio Zeballos before falling short in the championship match to Marcelo Arevalo and Jean-Julien Rojer.

The new team reached the final in Florence before lifting the trophy in back-to-back weeks in Naples and Basel. In Paris, they are into their first Masters 1000 final as a team.

Dodig and Krajicek join Wesley Koolhof/Neal Skupski, Ram/Salisbury, Arevalo/Rojer, Nikola Mektic/Mate Pavic, Granollers/Zeballos, Lloyd Glasspool/Harri Heliovaara and Thanasi Kokkinakis/Nick Kyrgios in Turin.

Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski continued their standout season Saturday at the Rolex Paris Masters, defeating Lloyd Glasspool and Harri Heliovaara in the semi-finals 6-1, 6-7(4), 10-6.

The Dutch-British team on Sunday will look to claim its seventh title this season and strengthen its claim for year-end No. 1 honours in the Pepperstone ATP Live Doubles Teams Rankings.

Koolhof guaranteed his first-time rise Monday to No. 1 in the individual Pepperstone ATP Doubles Rankings one day earlier when the pair won their quarter-final.

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Koolhof and Skupski will aim for their third ATP Masters 1000 title this season (Madrid, Montreal) in Sunday’s championship match, where they will meet either Ivan Dodig and Austin Krajicek or German pair Kevin Krawietz and Andreas Mies. Both teams are in contention to claim the last Nitto ATP Finals doubles spot.

Novak Djokovic won his eighth straight match against Stefanos Tsitsipas on Saturday in the Rolex Paris Masters semi-finals, extending his twin win streaks to 13 matches both overall and at the ATP Masters 1000 event — but only just.

In a 6-2, 3-6, 7-6(4) victory, the Serbian won the final four points of the match after falling behind by a mini-break in the decisive tie-break, including a defensive masterclass to bring up match point. Djokovic could not convert two late break points at 4-4, 15/40, and instead needed a dramatic comeback of his own despite making a blistering start to the contest in the opening set.

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"It's very sweet, obviously, when you win matches like this against one of the best players in the world," Djokovic said after the victory. "I thought I started the match very well, again, great hitting like yesterday in the quarters. I had chances early on in the second, I didn't break his serve. The momentum shifted, the crowd got into it. I think he elevated his level of tennis.

"Deservedly so, we went into — both of us — into an even battle all the way until the last point, until the last shot. Some incredible points towards the end. I'm just really glad to overcome this challenge."

After nearly four weeks, three ATP Tour titles, and 16 matches won, Felix Auger-Aliassime was not going to let the disappointment of defeat at the Rolex Paris Masters get to him.

The Canadian fell to an inspired Holger Rune on Saturday in the semi-finals at the ATP Masters 1000 event, his first tour-level loss since the beginning of October, but Auger-Aliassime was keen to emphasise the positives as his remarkable run came to an end.

“Had I won today, had I won tomorrow, I would be in heaven,” said the 22-year-old at his post-match press conference. “It would be great to win. [But] throughout my career, I have always tried to draw lessons from my failures. As I said recently during the US Open, I lost early, it was disappointing, but I managed to overturn this into something positive."

Auger-Aliassime’s red-hot run earned him more than just trophies in Florence, Antwerp and Basel. The Canadian’s results over the past month were also crucial for securing his spot at the Nitto ATP Finals, to be held in Turin from 13-20 November, for the first time.

“It's the end of a winning streak,” said Auger-Aliassime. “It's something that was good that ended. From tomorrow onwards, I will focus my attention on Turin.”

#NextGenATP Briton Jack Draper entered the 2022 season at No. 265 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings with just two tour-level wins to his name.

Fast forward 11 months and the 20-year-old arrives at the Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan as the World No. 45, holding a 17-11 tour-level record on the season. Having struggled with injuries in previous years, Draper feels that his ability to stay fit in 2022 has been paramount to his rise.

“It has been the first season I have been able to play lots,” Draper told ATPTour.com. “With my injuries in the past few years I have not been able to play as much as I would have wanted to, because of some unfortunate injuries. For example, I did some ligaments in my ankle. Just not getting that consistency of practising and competing. I think that is the biggest thing this year, just being able to stay fit and healthy and stay on court. I am ready physically and mentally to put it on court together.”

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Draper, who missed the second half of 2021 due to a ruptured ligament in his ankle, started the season on fire, winning four ATP Challenger Tour titles in the opening four months of the year.

Carlos Alcaraz on Saturday withdrew from the Nitto ATP Finals and the Davis Cup Finals because of an internal oblique muscle tear in his left abdominal wall, ending his season. 

"After my withdrawal yesterday and having been evaluated by my medical team, @drlopezmartinez and @JuanjoMoreno_M, unfortunately this is the result of my injury: an internal oblique muscle tear in the left abdominal wall with an estimated recovery time of six weeks," Alcaraz tweeted. "Unfortunately I won't make the ATP Finals or the Davis Cup Finals. It is tough and painful for me to miss these two events, which are so important to me, but all I can do is be positive and focus on my recovery. Thank you for the support! ?"

After my withdrawal yesterday and having been evaluated by my medical team, @drlopezmartinez and @JuanjoMoreno_M, unfortunately this is the result of my injury: an internal oblique muscle tear in the left abdominal wall with an estimated recovery time of six weeks. pic.twitter.com/MbVHhJF1Oe

Alcaraz completes his season with a 57-13 record. On 12 September he became the youngest World No. 1 in the history of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings.

The 19-year-old won five tour-level titles in 2022, including his first two ATP Masters 1000 victories (Miami and Madrid) and his first Grand Slam trophy at the US Open.

Holger Rune took his stellar late-season form to another level on Saturday at the Rolex Paris Masters, where the #NextGenATP Dane dispatched Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-4, 6-2 to reach his maiden ATP Masters 1000 final.

Rune took control early in a meeting between two of the in-form players on the ATP Tour, using his aggressive groundstrokes to dictate play wherever possible and heap pressure on the Auger-Aliassime serve. Both players were competing for a spot in their fourth consecutive ATP Tour final, but the 19-year-old Rune converted three of eight break points to wrap a comprehensive 88-minute win.

“It was an unbelievable match from my side today,” said Rune after his triumph. “I really was sticking to the game plan for the whole match and just taking every chance I got. Putting Felix under pressure, that’s what my game plan was all about, and I managed to do it almost perfectly. I am super proud how I handled everything.”

Fourth final in a row. Fourth top-10 win in a row ?@holgerrune2003 snaps Auger-Aliassime’s SIXTEEN-match winning streak to reach his maiden Masters 1000 final in Paris!#RolexParisMasters pic.twitter.com/gcfq107ye9

It was the second meeting between Rune and Auger-Aliassime in the space of six days, following the latter’s straight-sets triumph in the Basel final on Sunday. Yet the Canadian could not match Rune’s intensity or quality in Paris as the Dane convincingly halted Auger-Aliassime’s winning streak at 16 matches.

The first balls have been struck in the leadup to the 2022 Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals.

Brandon Nakashima and Francesco Passaro on Saturday morning enjoyed the first training session ahead of the 21-and-under season finale. 

Photo Credit: Peter Staples/ATP Tour
It will not be the last time Nakashima stand across the net from one another this week in Milan. Both #NextGenATP stars were drawn into Green Group alongside Denmark's Holger Rune and the Czech Republic's Jiri Lehecka.

Nakashima is competing at the Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals for the second consecutive year. In 2021, the American advanced to the semi-finals in Milan.

“It feels great to be back here. I had such a great time last year. I think the tournament, the ATP does a great job here, so I’m really looking forward to playing here again,” Nakashima said. “Again this year the field is very strong. All of us had such great years with great consistency, doing well at the big tournaments, so I think it’s going to be a great tournament for the fans to watch and for us players to compete against each other [in].”

The groups for the 2022 Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals were set Saturday in Milan.

Italian Lorenzo Musetti is making his second appearance at the 21-and-under event and will lead Red Group alongside Jack Draper, Chun-Hsin Tseng and Dominic Stricker.

Dane Holger Rune arrives in Italy off the back of a standout season, having won two tour-level titles. The 19-year-old will compete in Green Group with Brandon Nakashima, Jiri Lehecka and Francesco Passaro.

Green Group

Red Group

Stefanos Tsitsipas won two of his first three ATP Head2Head matchups against Novak Djokovic, but the Serbian has owned their rivalry since then, winning seven straight matches. Djokovic will now put that streak — and two others — on the line when he meets the Greek in Saturday's Rolex Paris Masters semi-finals.

Djokovic is the underdog by seeding in Bercy, but not by form. The sixth seed carries dual 12-match win streaks into the semis, both overall and at the ATP Masters 1000 event, where he has won titles in his past two appearances in 2019 and 2021. He has not dropped a set this week, cruising past Maxime Cressy, Karen Khachanov and Lorenzo Musetti as he looks to win his third straight ATP Tour trophy after triumphs in Tel Aviv and Astana.

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"No one is unbeatable, but I've had plenty of success on this court and I think every single year that I come back, the confidence level is higher," the six-time champion said after reaching his eighth semi-final at the event. "I just like the conditions, even though they are different from last year. I think I adjusted very well. Right from the start I was really playing my best tennis in the first match and I continued doing that. Hopefully I will not derail myself and will keep going in the same direction."

Djokovic was particulaly dominant off his forehand wing against Musetti, firing eight winners in a 6-0, 6-3 victory. He received a forehand Shot Quality grade of 9.2 out of 10 for the match. (Learn more about Shot Quality.)

Stefanos Tsitsipas has set up a blockbuster semi-final showdown with Novak Djokovic in Paris after dismissing American Tommy Paul Friday night to capture his 60th match win of the year.

The fifth-seeded Greek, who still has an outside shot at finishing the year No. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, saved all seven break points he faced in the 6-2, 6-4 win while converting all three break opportunities that came his way.

“It was a very good match,” Tsitsipas said. “I was able to get ahead in some of his service games, which gave me good energy. I wish I could have avoided some of the situations where I had to save break points, but I dealt with those situations very professionally and I was able to hold serve. My forehand is my confidence shot and has allowed me to get into the corners to open up the court. It’s a weapon of mine on these courts.”

The 2021 and '22 Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters champion is attempting to win multiple ATP Masters 1000 titles in the same season for the first time, but that road runs through Djokovic. The Serbian owns a record 38 titles at this level, and has triumphed in Paris a record six times, including in his two most recent appearances in 2019 and 2021. Djokovic has also beaten Tsitsipas seven straight times and boasts an overall 8-2 lead in their ATP Head2Head series.

Asked how he would snap his losing streak to Djokovic, Tsitsipas said that he would fight the urge to overplay against the man who spent a record 373 weeks as World No. 1 during his career. “I need to show the same consistency. I have weapons that I can use. But in the past I feel I have used too much spin or power. It’s important that I stay at a medium level and not overdo it. It will be a physical match and I will need to move well.”

#NextGenATP Italian Jannik Sinner broke new ground in 2019 when he triumphed on home soil at the Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan.

The then-18-year-old, who sat No. 95 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, defeated Alex de Minaur in the championship match to give Italy its first home champion at the 21-and-under event.

Next week, Francesco Passaro will aim to replicate his countryman and soar to success on debut at the Allianz Cloud, with Sinner’s victory providing him with belief and motivation.

“I watched on TV last year and three years ago when Jannik won,” Passaro told ATPTour.com. “I think for me the event is a big opportunity because it is in Italy and it is going be of the best under-21 players in the world. It is a very big goal. This year I have grown up a lot. I am now more about myself. The Italian crowd. The energy of the stadium and the atmosphere is [going to be] very, very nice.”

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Holger Rune may have had a busy 2022 season developing his game on court, but that hasn’t stopped the Dane from also finding time to work on a slightly different set of skills.

“I can juggle three balls, for sure. With four, it’s rusty, but I’m trying,” Rune, whose coach Lars Christensen used to work as a circus artist, recently told ATPTour.com. “It’s nice, it’s fun… He (Christensen) showed me [how to do a] handstand, but it takes a lot of work. I can do it against a wall, but it’s very tough to do.”

The 19-year-old Dane believes that Christensen’s background brings a unique perspective to his team as he looks to finish his stellar year in style at the Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan.

“He’s told me a little bit [about the circus] and I’ve seen a few videos of it,” said Rune, who has worked with Christensen since childhood. “It’s obviously another kind of thing to tennis, but he’s taught me a few tricks… It’s good, because he has an understanding of all the fitness also, because he did a lot of work to be able to do what he did.

“Obviously, all the things with the balls help. The coordination, and he also has some good drills on the court that maybe other coaches wouldn’t have because he has been in that business. For me, it is nice to have a guy not only with a tennis background, but a different background.”

Dutchman Wesley Koolhof had two reasons to celebrate at the Rolex Paris Masters Friday after teaming with Neal Skupski to reach the semi-finals with a victory that guarantees his rise to No. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Doubles Rankings on Monday.

Koolhof and Skupski cruised to a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Rohan Bopanna and Matwe Middelkoop to move to within two victories of their seventh title of the season.

“It's a dream to become World No. 1 individual,” Koolhof said. “But we still have a semi-final, hopefully a final to play here, we still have Turin. There's still a lot to play for.

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"It means everything, obviously. I think the first goal you have when you start playing tennis is you want to become World No. 1. I didn't know until I opened the live rankings on Monday, because I saw the Nitto ATP Finals points drop off for Ram and Salisbury. [I] needed to make semi-final here [Paris] to be No. 1. It feels great to reach the goal."

Novak Djokovic gave #NextGenATP Italian Lorenzo Musetti a rude welcome to his first ATP Masters 1000 quarter-final as the Serbian eased to victory on Friday at the Rolex Paris Masters. In a 6-0, 6-3 win, Djokovic did not allow the 20-year-old a game point in the first seven games, then quickly overturned a break deficit to run away with the second set and the match.

Seeking his seventh Paris crown, the defending champion extended his dual win streaks to 12 matches both overall in Bercy, where he won titles in his past two appearances in 2019 and 2021. With victory in what was his 90th Masters quarter-final, Djokovic advanced to his 74th semi-final at the prestigious level and now awaits the winner of the day's final match between Stefanos Tsitsipas and Tommy Paul. That mark stands at second-most all-time, behind Nadal's 76.

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Musetti was unable to follow up the biggest win of his career, against World No. 4 Casper Ruud on Thursday, with another upset against Djokovic. Despite the defeat, the Italian has enjoyed a strong final stretch this season, winning his first hard-court title last month in Naples and winning nine of his past 12 matches. 

After falling to 0-3 in his ATPHead2Head against Djokovic, he will next turn his attention to the Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals, set for 8-12 November in Milan.

Carlos Alcaraz's run at the Rolex Paris Masters came to a sudden end on Friday as an abdominal problem forced him to retire late in his quarter-final match against Holger Rune. He dropped a 6-3 opening set to the Dane and began to feel the issue at the end of the second set, ultimately retiring while trailing 1/3 in the tie-break.

"At the end of the set, it was wrong," he said of the abdominal issue. "It was getting wrong and I preferred to retire and see it, and take care [of] it."

Despite the unfortunate end to the entertaining contest — a rematch of the pair's meeting at the 2021 Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals — Alcaraz is hopeful of a fast and full recovery before his debut at the Nitto ATP Finals, which begins 13 November. If he can maintain his position as World No. 1 in Turin, the 19-year-old will become the youngest year-end No. 1 in the history of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings.

"I have the Nitto [ATP] Finals," he said, when asked if he was looking forward to the end of a gruelling season in which he's played 70 matches, winning 57. "I have some tests on how it's going to be before Turin. But right now I'm focused to try to get better in the abdominal and trying to be at 100 per cent in Turin."

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Lloyd Glasspool and Harri Heliovaara on Friday became the seventh doubles team to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals. One place remains at the season finale, to be played from 13-20 November in Turin.

It has been a standout season for the British-Finnish team, which will make its debut at the year-end championships. Glasspool and Heliovaara claimed the title at the ATP 500 event in Hamburg and showed great consistency throughout the season, their second together.

Glasspool and Heliovaara advanced to ATP Tour finals on three different surfaces in 2022, reaching the championship match in Montpellier (hard), Dallas (hard), Queen’s Club (grass), Umag (clay), Metz (hard) and Stockholm (hard). The pair also enjoyed success at the Grand Slams, reaching the quarter-finals at Roland Garros and the US Open.

Glasspool and Heliovaara join Wesley Koolhof/Neal Skupski, Rajeev Ram/Joe Salisbury, Marcelo Arevalo/Jean-Julien Rojer, Nikola Mektic/Mate Pavic, Marcel/Granollers/Horacio Zeballos and Thanasi Kokkinakis/Nick Kyrgios in Turin. 

Editor's Note: This story was originally published on 15 January 2022.

Holger Rune has big dreams in tennis. The #NextGenATP Danish star has no problem saying he believes he can compete with everyone on the ATP Tour and that one day, he wants to be World No. 1.

According to Holger’s mother, Aneke Rune, he is not just saying that for the sake of it.

“As Holger says, a lot of guys say I want to be No. 1, but you can see they don’t mean it. He says you can see it in their eyes. For Holger it’s important as well [that] his coach and people involved really want it,” Aneke said. “He feels it immediately if it’s just fake. If some coaches tried to be interested when he was younger, he was like, ‘But he doesn’t mean it’.

“He’s very serious, and still now when he says he wants to improve and wants to do these things, this is what he really means. It’s not like [he is just saying] ‘I want to be a rockstar’. He wants it.”

Holger Rune advanced to his maiden ATP Masters 1000 semi-final on Friday at the Rolex Paris Masters after Carlos Alcaraz was forced to retire deep into the pair’s quarter-final clash.

After charging to the opening set, Rune held firm to force a tie-break as World No. 1 Alcaraz stepped up his level in the second. Having had treatment on an abdominal muscle at 6-5, however, Alcaraz was forced to retire with Rune leading 3/1 in the second-set tie-break at 6-3, 6-6 .

“I thought it was a great match. [It's] unlucky for him,” said Rune. “I think we both played very well and I was super focused. It was an amazing crowd, amazing tennis, so I’m super pleased with how I handled everything today.”

Prior to Alcaraz’s injury, Stockholm champion Rune had given another demonstration of the recent strides he has made with his game. He rode a fast start to claim the opening set in his first match against fellow 19-year-old Alcaraz since the Spaniard prevailed in straight sets at the 2021 Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals. When Alcaraz raised his level in a keenly fought second, Rune fended off two break points at 3-4 en route to the tie-break.

“Carlos is, if not the best, one of the best return players in the world,” said Rune. “Of course, he is No. 1, so he is obviously the best in the world right now, but I’m super happy with how I handled all the things under pressure and how I handled also my return game. I tried to play as aggressive as possible. Sometimes I missed a few shots but it was all worth it because at the end I was very good at important moments."