Holger Rune Beats Zizou Bergs At Stockholm Open In Emotional Return From Achilles Injury

Rejuvenated rune beats Bergs to bury his Stockholm demons

He left Stockholm last year on crutches. He returned on Tuesday as a winner.

Rune Returns from 10-month injury nightmare to beat Zizou Bergs in Stockholm...

One year after his Achilles snapped in the Stockholm semi-finals, Holger Rune walked back into the Kungliga Hallen and exorcised the memory, beating Zizou Bergs 6-3, 6-4 to reach the last 16.

Tuesday was about far more than a second-round win. It was Rune's return to the very court in Stockholm where that injury cost him ten months of his career, and this time he walked off it a winner.

In the opening round in Stockholm, he swept past Belgian Zizou Bergs in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4. Next up in the last 16 is Serbia's Miomir Kecmanovic.

One break in each set was all Rune needed. He was rock-solid on his own serve, holding in every single service game.

It wasn't all smooth, though. The Dane needed time to find his rhythm against the world No. 44, digging deep to save four break points in a brutal opening game that dragged on for more than ten minutes.

As the first set wore on, his level kept rising. He made Bergs run from corner to corner to move ahead 3-2, and slowly started to read the Belgian's serve like a book.

That pressure finally told when he forced Bergs to fire wide on his first break point. That gave the Dane a 5-3 lead, and he closed out the set with a perfect service game.

Bergs actually served well, and was far more consistent than Rune at landing his first serve. But Rune eventually cracked the code on the Belgian's patterns and started ripping powerful returns.

The second set followed much the same script. The pair stayed locked together until 3-3, before Rune pounced on his first break point of the set.

Bergs never recovered from that blow. Rune stayed rock-solid on his own serve to seal the set 6-4. Next up is Miomir Kecmanovic, ranked No. 64 in the world.

Holger Rune vs Zizou Bergs - Match Stats