INDIAN WELLS, Calif. — It turns out tennis players can grow up and change, even Holger Rune.
Clearly tired of losing big matches to more accomplished players, Rune, the 21-year-old from Denmark who has yet to fulfill the promise of his first seasons, played one of the most mature and thoughtful matches of his still young career in the semifinal of the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells against two-time finalist Daniil Medvedev.
Rune, who was supposed to be a career-long rival for Carlos Alcaraz, might yet get the chance if he keeps playing matches like Saturday’s. Displaying a rare patience and creative mix of pace, depth and height, Rune beat Medvedev 7-5, 6-4 to earn a spot in Sunday’s final.
Ahead of the match, Medvedev described Rune as the rare player on tour who had every shot. Rune’s problem has been figuring out how to use them effectively from match to match and tournament to tournament. He also has a tendency to lose his head when matches get tight, which can bring on the other problem of not making the right shots at the right time.
But this was a different Rune than the one who has so often shown up over the past two years. Playing one of the most mind-numbingly patient players on the tour, a player who could probably sustain a backhand-to-backhand rally while eating a turkey sandwich, Rune decided to try to out-Medvedev Medvedev.
He rallied and rallied and rallied some more, and just when it looked like he was prepared to trade softballs all afternoon, Rune would pull the trigger and smack a fastball at Medvedev’s toes. The effect was to keep Medvedev off-balance all afternoon. The big Russian never knew what might be coming next.
Rune survived a 10-minute service game at 3-4 in the first set, then broke Medvedev for the second time in the set to go up 6-5 when Medvedev lost his patience and serve and volleyed on break point, punching his backhand volley into the top of the tape.
Rune never looked back, outfoxing Medvedev, who appeared to have no answers for someone beating him at his own game.
Serving for the match, Rune fell down 0-30 with a double fault and a backhand into the net off a wild save from Medvedev, but he righted his ship with a big first serve and then two more patient rallies that went his way.
On match point, he needed no patience at all — big serve, big forehand and that was it.
The boy just might be growing up.
(Photo: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)