Alex de Minaur's hopes of roaring back to the top of the Australian rankings have been wrecked after he lost a "brutal" semi-final clash to teen star Holger Rune in the Stockholm Open.
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All had looked on course for the Sydneysider to make it to another hardcourt final when he took the opening set and led 3-1 in the second during Saturday's last-four encounter with the young Dane.
But Rune's steel, evident all season with this remarkable 19-year-old, dragged him back into the contest, hardened him to outplay de Minaur in a second-set tiebreak and saw him run out a 4-6 7-6 (7-1) 7-5 winner after a gruelling contest that lasted two hours 52 minutes.
It was a huge anti-climax for 23-year-old de Minaur, who's been in fine form all week at the Royal Tennis Hall in the Swedish capital and was eyeing the prospect of a second tournament triumph of the season after his victory in Atlanta in July.
If he'd made it to Sunday's final and won - something no Australian player has ever achieved in the event's 53-year annals - de Minaur would have regained the domestic No.1 spot that Nick Kyrgios has annexed during his stellar year.
Instead, it's the rising Rune who's reached his third ATP final of the year by outlasting de Minaur in a classic contest.
"It was a brutal match from the beginning to the end," the teenager enthused in his on-court interview.
"Super long rallies. Really exhausting. He takes the ball super early and puts you under a lot of pressure but I was able to raise my level towards the end of the second set and I started a bit better than expected in the third.
"I am super happy with how I fought until the end."
De Minaur, as ever, could not be faulted for fight either as he roared back from 3-0 and 4-2 down in the final set but though he tried to take the initiative, Rune's own attacking instincts prevailed as he cracked 45 winners to the Australian's 24.
Rune, who started the season outside the top 100 but is now No.27, will face top seed Stefanos Tsitsipas in the championship match after the Greek needed just 74 minutes to ease past Finland's Emil Ruusuvuori 6-2 6-2 to maintain his unbeaten record at the event he won in 2018.
"We are both big fighters," said Tsitsipas of Rune.
"He's someone that has been developing and doing well recently. We have played plenty of times against each other, more on the practice court, and I'm looking forward to that battle."
Australian Associated Press
