Wimbledon 2023: Drama unfolded on Court 3 at Wimbledon on Saturday, 8th July 2023. The contest between Alejandro Davidovich Fokina and Holger Rune went down the wire. Serving in a tense fifth set tie-break when the scores were 8-8, Fokina thought out of the box. He decided to stun his opponent with a under-arm serve. However the move backfired as Rune clinched the point and went on to win the outlast his opponent.
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20-year old Holger Rune managed to win the contest 6-3, 4-6, 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 to reach the fourth round for the first time in his career at Wimbledon. The marathon battle went on close to four hours. It was heartbreak for Fokina as he was leading 8-5 in the tie-break at one stage.
Having hit the under-arm serve at a crucial juncture, he rushed to the net. But Rune was ready for it as he ran towards the ball and hit a forehand winner. With the decision from Fokina backfired he couldn’t save the next match point and the curtains came down on the Spaniard’s campaign at SW 19 this year.
Holger Rune meanwhile fell on his back on the court and soaked in the applause from the crowd after prevailing in the nail-biting encounter. Speaking about the underarm serve, he said, “I was not expecting that it was going to come. Actually, it was nice because he was serving unbelievable. So I was like, ‘it’s a chance to get a match point.’ Again, I was not expecting it. I had to be fast.”
Fokina however did not regret his decision. He simply called the shot “another serve”. Asked if he would make the same decision again, he added: “Why not? I’m happy for this match that I did because I was struggling on grass and how I played today I convinced myself that I have a lot of things in myself.”
Holger Rune will next face Matteo Berrettini in the fourth round. Berrettini made it to the third round after sailing past 19th seed Alexander Zverev in straight sets.
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