Vacherot Edges Rune In Basel Thriller To Reach Semi-finals
Holger Rune's impressive return after his Achilles injury stops in the Basel quarter-finals as Valentin Vacherot advances to the semis.
Holger Rune's run in Basel is over after a hard-fought exit against Valentin Vacherot....
Vacherot came through 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 to reach the semi-finals. For 23-year-old Rune, it was the end of a promising week on his comeback trail, having returned to the ATP Tour a month and a half ago after a serious Achilles tendon injury to pick up his first two wins back in Basel.
As against Hubert Hurkacz and Quentin Halys earlier in the tournament, Rune was up against another huge serve on Friday, with Vacherot firing 20 aces to Rune's five.
Rune actually started the sharper of the two, moving Vacherot around well and punishing the Monegasque whenever his big first serve misfired.
Vacherot sealed a 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 victory to book his spot in the semi-finals.
For 23-year-old Rune, it marks the end of an encouraging comeback week. The Dane only returned to the ATP Tour six weeks ago after a long layoff with an Achilles tendon injury and had claimed his first two wins since his return in Basel.
It was another serving examination for Rune, who had already had to deal with the big serves of Poland's Hubert Hurkacz and France's Quentin Halys. That theme continued on Friday, as Vacherot fired 20 aces to Rune's five.
Rune had looked the sharper at the start of the contest, using good movement to stretch Vacherot and making the Monegasque pay whenever his powerful first serve was missing.
It earned the Dane six break points in the very first game, but Vacherot dug deep to grind out a 1-0 lead.
Rune kept the pressure on in Vacherot's next service game too. Up 40-0, he carved out three more break points, only for Vacherot to again escape behind a flurry of huge serves.
Instead of the breakthrough for Rune, it was his opponent who struck first, converting his first break point in a game littered with unforced errors from the Dane.
At 2-5 down, Rune called for a three-minute medical timeout for treatment on his thigh, but it brought little immediate relief. Vacherot had found his rhythm and closed out the first set.
Rune looked shaky in the opening game of the second set, but then responded in style. He broke to love for a 2-0 lead after arguably his best game of the match, putting himself firmly on course to level the contest.
Valentin Vacherot defeats Holger Rune 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 to secure a spot in the Basel final 4 👏 #SwissIndoorsBasel | @val_vacherot https://t.co/9JzA2ai2ZW
— ATP Tour (@atptour) October 30, 2026
The decider was another tight affair with few break chances. The turning point came at 4-2 as Vacherot secured the crucial break, having also raised his level significantly on serve compared to the second set.
Next up for Vacherot is a semi-final on Saturday against either Taylor Fritz or Arthur Fils.
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