Rune Saves Match Point to Beat Hurkacz and Reach Basel Quarter-Finals

Holger Rune's comeback gathered more momentum in Basel on Wednesday, as the Dane survived a match point to beat Hubert Hurkacz 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 and book a place in the Swiss Indoors quarter-finals. It was Rune's second win on the ATP Tour since returning from a long-term Achilles injury, and it came the hard way against one of the tour's biggest servers. Hurkacz, the world No. 28, took the first set after breaking Rune once and refusing to give the break back, despite Rune creating three break points in the Pole's next service game. The second set swung the other way, with a single Rune break proving enough to level the match. The decider then went the distance without a break of serve, setting up a tiebreak full of swings in momentum. Rune missed a match point at 6-5, hitting long, and then found himself facing a match point of his own, which he saved with solid baseline play before closing out the tiebreak. Hurkacz finished with 18 aces and won 81 per cent of his first-serve points, yet still ended on the losing side after two hours of play. Rune won 75 per cent of his own first-serve points and, crucially, held his nerve when the match was on the line. The result continues a promising Basel run for the 23-year-old former world No. 4, who reached the final on his debut in 2022.