Holger Rune battled past injured Carlos Alcaraz to spoil the Spanish Easter party at the Barcelona Open, with the Dane lifting the trophy 7-6 (6), 6-2. 

The pair of 21-year-olds were familiar foes, having played 20 times in juniors before hitting the Tour;  Rune won the first 500 series title of his career and his fifth overall.

Alcaraz was treated three times in the second set after an apparent injury to his upper right thigh/groin after duelling hard in the opening set at the Real Club.

The loss will send Alcaraz back to third in the rankings, with Alexander Zverev moving back to second behind Jannik Sinner as a result of winning the Munich title on Sunday.

Rune, a first-round victim last week in Monte Carlo, reversed his clay momentum in Spain, handing Alcaraz a first loss of a set for the week.

The Spanish top seed’s two final shots both clipped the top of the net and fell back as Rune raised his hands in celebration after 97 minutes on court in the Catalan capital.

“This means the world,” the winner said. “I started the match stressed, he was playing big-time tennis.

“I was able to find my rhythm after he broke me (3-2 in the opening set) and I got more into the match.

“The first set was a big battle with a lot of important points. It was super-important to win the set and gain momentum.

“I’m so proud of myself.”

Rune ended with 18 winners while the ailing Alcaraz produced 33 unforced errors. The Dane claimed his 50th match win on clay and levelled his Tour record in the series to 2-2.

Rune said he channeled Novak Djokovic’s Paris Olympic gold medal win from  last summer over Alcaraz as he struggled to turn his game around in Barcelona.

“I asked myself what Novak did to win that final. I (realised) that I didn’t need to hit every ball on the line. I need to make him play and hit a lot of balls.”

Rune, who won the elite Paris Bercy Masters 1000 title in 2022, finally began reversing a 13-match loss streak against top five opponents.with his title victory.

Alcaraz may be racing for fitness with the Madrid Masters starting on Wednesday as the ATP ploughs ahead with an unpopular two-week format for Masters tournaments despite growing protest from exhausted players.

Main photo:- Holger Rune celebrates Barcelona win – by ATPTour.com

Czech Jakub Mensik crashed the Miami Masters party for Novak Djokovic as the teenager kept the veteran Serb from a potential 100th ATP title with a 7-6 (4), 7-6 (4) upset title win.

The final was delayed nearly six hours by rain, with an afternoon start turning into a nighttime session. Mensik went on to claim the first Tour trophy of his career.

Djokovic, 37, won his last title at the Paris Olympic last summer and had looked in position to join the 100 club along with Roger Federer and Jimmy Connors. 

But Mensik had other ideas, with the Czech posting the surprise result after two hours, falling to the court in pure relief on his back after claiming the biggest win of his young career.

“It’s just a mess in my head,” the 19-year-old said. “I don’t know what to say – this is incredible.”This is probably the biggest day of my life. I’m super-happy, I’m sure the feeling will come later.”

The surprise winner who knocked out last year’s US Open finalist Taylor Fritz in the semi-finals, said he lept his nerves in check on his way to the win.

“This was not the first time I’ve played Novak. But there is no harder task in tennis than to beat him in a final

“I feel this is my time, so I tried to focus on the match. I was really feeling the ball.”

The win produced the second-youngest Miami titleholder after Carlos Alcaraz, winner here in 2022 at age 18. His title was the fist for the Czech republic at the Masters level since Tomas Berdych won Paris Bercy two decades ago;

Djokovic was having problems with his right eye, taking drops for the problem as he struggled with his game.

Mensik took a 5-0 lead in the first-set tiebreaker, claiming the opener on his third opportunity – an overhead winner – against the six-time Miami champion.

The pair played level-pegging in the second set, which also went into a breaker. Mensik secured his triumph on a second match point after facing just one break point throughout.

The 18-year age gap between the winner and finalist was the largest ever at a Masters 1000 final.Teen Mensik denies Djokovic his title century.

Main photo:- Jakub Mensik celebrates winning Miami Masters – by ATPTour.com

Holger Rune made a return to the conversation on Saturday as the Dane secured a spot in his first Masters 1000 final since late 2022, defeating Daniil Medvedev 7-5, 6-4 at Indian Wells for his 150th ATP win..

Rune, 21, is assured of a fellow young gun as his Sunday finals opponent, with Jack Draper and Carlos Alcaraz – both born in the 2000s – meeting in the second semi-final in the Californian desert.

Rune delivered a solid performance to deny fight seed Medvedev a third consecutive final at the event – both of which he lost to Alcaraz.

Rune earned victory as he set up a match point after a 38-shot rally and finished off with a winner to the open court a point later after just over 90 minutes.

The Dane has lost his last seven Tour semi-finals and is now into the 10th final of his career. He owns the Masters title from Paris Bercy three seasons ago.

“This means everything,” the winner said. “But the job is not over yet. It does feel amazing for sure.

“Daniil is one of the toughest guys on Tour. We knew each other very well, so I knew it would be difficult.”

Ruud claimed the opening set with a break in the penultimate game and won a dozen consecutive points to earn a 3-1 lead in the second on his way into the title match.

“I had the right tactics, he’s super-solid,” Rune said. “I’m very proud of myself. I was able to find the right rhythm and I stayed composed until the end.”

Rune had lost his previous two matches to the 29-year-old Medvedev. The Dane said he hopes to stay “focused and composed” in the final.

He last played for a trophy at Brisbane in January, 2024.

Main photo:- Holger Rune celebrates winning IW semi final in straight sets – by ISF Ltd