Stockholm bites again
Of all the places for it to happen. Holger Rune pulled out of his Stockholm Open quarter-final against Taylor Fritz on Thursday, announcing on Instagram that he had felt something in his hamstring the day before and would not risk it.
The city carries a heavy memory for the Dane. A little over a year ago, on the same court, he ruptured his left Achilles tendon in the middle of a semi-final. That injury wiped out most of his following season and sent a former world No. 4 tumbling to 406th in the ATP rankings.
His message was short. He said the injury was minor, but that he wanted to begin the new season healthy and saw no point in gambling on it now.
no renewal
Free for 2 weeks.
A week that had started well
That is what stings. Rune had looked sharp in Sweden. He beat Belgium’s Zizou Bergs, ranked 44th, in the opening round, then got past Miomir Kecmanovic, the world No. 64, to set up a meeting with Fritz. For a player rebuilding his ranking almost from scratch, a scalp like Fritz would have been worth a lot.
Instead the American walks straight into the last four. He will face the winner of Thursday evening’s quarter-final between Lorenzo Musetti and France’s Ugo Humbert, scheduled for 8:15pm local time.
Eyes on January
With the indoor swing almost over, Rune’s calculation is simple enough. Points in Stockholm would have helped, but a fit body in Australia matters more. He has not said how long the hamstring will keep him off court, only that this was a precaution.
Fritz, for his part, gets a free pass and fresh legs for the semis.
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