Rune Rolls Into Round 2 In Basel

Holger Rune’s late-season surge showed no sign of abating Wednesday at the Swiss Indoors Basel, where the 19-year-old fired his way to a 6-2, 7-5 first-round win against Alex de Minaur.

After lifting his second ATP Tour title on Sunday in Stockholm, Rune picked up where he left off in Basel, hitting 26 winners to seventh-seeded De Minaur’s nine in an 89-minute triumph. It was the Dane’s second victory against De Minaur in the space of five days after he overcame the Australian in three sets in the Stockholm semi-finals on Saturday.

Having also reached the final in Sofia at the beginning of the month, Rune now holds an 11-2 record on European indoor hard courts this Autumn. The Dane, who will hope to maintain his form when he competes at November's Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan, is chasing his third tour-level title of the season (Munich, Stockholm) but his first at ATP 500 level.

Rune began the week at a career-high World No. 25 and today's win elevates him to No. 23 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings. A deep run in Basel could see him break into the Top 20 for the first time. His next opponent in Switzerland will be Ugo Humbert, after the French qualifier downed Jenson Brooksby 6-1, 6-4.

Rune’s fellow #NextGenATP star Lorenzo Musetti, who also lifted his second ATP Tour title on Sunday with victory in Naples, was unable to join the Dane in the second round. Albert Ramos-Vinolas held firm after a fast start from Musetti to record a 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 triumph against the Italian. The Spaniard next faces Alexander Bublik.