ATP Tour

Rune beats Mpetshi Perricard at his own game; Musetti wins in Toronto

Holger Rune may not be renowned for booming serves or towering aces, but he hit 6’8” powerhouse Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard with a taste of his own medicine on Tuesday at the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers.

After withdrawing from his opener in Washington last week due to back pain, Rune returned to claim a 7-6(7), 6-3 victory in Toronto, his first hard-court win since reaching the Indian Wells final in March. The fifth-seeded Dane fired 12 aces to Mpetshi Perricard’s seven and did not face a break point, according to Infosys ATP Stats, during their 76-minute clash.

Signed, sealed, delivered 📨@holgerrune2003 passes the Mpetshi Perricard test 7-6(7) 6-3 and is through to the third round in Toronto. @NBOtoronto | #NBO25 pic.twitter.com/7F0RHNBoQI

— ATP Tour (@atptour) July 29, 2025

“I haven’t served like this in a while,” said Rune, who dropped just three of 21 second-serve points. “I’ve been working on some small adjustments on my serve and it seems to be feeling good. It felt really good and I trusted it all the way.

“When he’s hitting those big serves, there’s not much to do, so it’s just about focusing on your own serve. I think I did that well. I’m just very happy with the match in general.”

Despite withdrawing on the day of his D.C. opener, Rune spent three days in Washington working with Andre Agassi. Their time together may have been short, but the former World No. 4 Rune looks sharp upon return to action for the first time since his first-round loss at Wimbledon last month.

Mpetshi Perricard dropped 17 aces on Rune en route to the Basel title last year, but the 22-year-old Dane used the quick conditions at the Canadian ATP Masters 1000 event to earn revenge and level their Lexus ATP Head2Head series at 1-1.

{{player.PlayerFirstName}} {{player.PlayerLastName}}

{{player.PlayerCountryCode}}

{{player.PlayerLastName}}

{{player.PartnerLastName}}

{{player.Record}}

Vs
wins

{{opponent.Record}}

Show H2H Detail

{{opponent.PlayerFirstName}} {{opponent.PlayerLastName}}

{{opponent.PlayerCountryCode}}

{{ opponent.PlayerLastName }}

{{opponent.PartnerLastName}}

• {{player.Ranking}} Rank {{opponent.Ranking}}
• {{player.Age ? player.Age : '-'}} Age {{opponent.Age ? opponent.Age : '-'}}

With a 23-14 tour-level record in 2025, highlighted by winning the Barcelona title in April, Rune is 15th in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin. He will next face Alexandre Muller in Toronto.

Lorenzo Musetti, who is sixth in the Live Race and aiming to debut at the Nitto ATP Finals, also came through his opening Toronto test in straight sets on Tuesday, beating James Duckworth 7-5, 6-1. With his win, the 23-year-old Italian snapped a three-match losing streak after first-round exits in Wimbledon and Washington.

The 23-year-old Italian owns a Tour-leading 17 wins at ATP Masters 1000 level this year, but 13 have come on clay. If he is to strengthen his chances of competing in Turin, he must carry the form he gathered during the European clay-court swing — where he reached the semi-finals at all three Masters events and Roland Garros — into the North American hard-court season.

Musetti will next play Alex Michelsen, who edged Tomas Barrios Vera 7-6(7), 6-3 in a tense second-round clash. The 26th-seeded American saved three set points in the opening set before racing through the second to earn his first win in Toronto.

In other early action, defending champion Alexei Popyrin began his campaign with a 7-6(7), 6-3 win against Canadian wild card Nicolas Arseneault. The 25-year-old Popyrin, who last year ousted five consecutive Top 20 players to win his biggest career title, will next play 10th seed Daniil Medvedev. Popyrin’s second-round victory marked his third hard-court win of the season.

Medvedev overcame lucky loser Dalibor Svrcina 7-6(3), 6-4, but the 2021 champion is looking for more out of his game.

“I was far from my best tennis, but it happens,” said a relieved Medvedev post match. “In Washington, I felt like I played a good match against Corentin [Moutet] and I lost. Wimbledon, kind of the same. It’s better to play worse and win, so I’m happy I won the match.”

Emilio Nava downed French lucky loser Terence Atmane 6-2, 7-5 to record consecutive tour-level wins for the second time after reaching the quarter-finals in Los Cabos two weeks ago. The 23-year-old American will next face 11th seed Karen Khachanov, who eased past Argentine qualifier Juan Pablo Ficovich 6-4, 6-2.