ATP Tour

Rune survives Halys' 32 aces for opening Basel win, records first ATP Tour win since injury

Holger Rune continued his comeback from injury in impressive fashion on Monday afternoon at the Swiss Indoors Basel, where he survived an ace avalanche from Quentin Halys.

The former No. 4 player in the PIF ATP Rankings, Rune weathered 32 aces from Halys before prevailing 6-4, 6-7(2), 7-6(5) in the first round of the indoor hard-court ATP 500 event. Competing in just his fourth tour-level event since returning from an 11-month Achilles injury layoff, Rune will be eager to build on his strong start in Basel as he targets another deep run at the tournament.

With his two-hour, 39-minute triumph over Halys, Rune improved to an 11-3 record in Basel, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index. The Dane reached the final in 2022 before making back-to-back semi-final appearances in 2023 and 2024. He will next face former finalist Hubert Hurkacz or Zizou Bergs.

Halys, who entered the tournament at a career-high World No. 45 after capturing his maiden ATP Tour title in Kitzbuehel in July, pushed Rune all the way in a tense first-round battle. However, the Dane held his nerve against the big-serving Frenchman, fending off three break points in a clutch display in the deciding set to seal the win.

Most men's indoor tour-level wins since start of 2022

Also on Day 1 in Basel, Valentin Vacherot returned to winning ways with a 6-3, 7-6(4) victory over Mariano Navone after two hours of play. The Monegasque, who suffered an opening defeat to Luca Van Assche in Lyon last week, dug deep to save four set points in a tightly contested second set against Navone before booking his place in the second round.

Vacherot will next face third seed Rafael Jodar or Alejandro Tabilo. Portugal’s Nuno Borges overcame an early scare against lucky loser Mika Brunold before eventually cruising to a 6-3, 6-1 victory over the Swiss player.

Another lucky loser, Daniel Altmaier, made the most of his second chance in Basel on Monday. After falling to Juan Manuel Cerundolo in the final round of qualifying, the German was drawn against the Argentine in the main draw and fought back for a dramatic 6-7(5), 7-6(4), 6-4 victory in two hours, 40 minutes. Altmaier will next take on Stan Wawrinka or eighth seed Jiri Lehecka.