As the 2022 tennis season began to wind down in the cold indoor stadiums across Europe, Novak Djokovifound himself in an unusual situation.
In the final of the Paris Masters that November, the Serb’s high level would have been sufficient to defeat many adversaries, but for once his opponent was even better.
That night, a fearless 19-year-old named Holger Rune toppled Djokovic to win his first Masters 1000 title.
Performing at the highest level week in, week out, though, is a much greater task than producing occasional, early flashes of brilliance.
Two years on from that striking encounter, Rune has not made as much progress as he hoped and, this time, the match-up was rather a mismatch.
