Two French double faults at crucial moments proved decisive when Holger Rune qualified for the third round at the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Toronto on Tuesday evening.
The 22-year-old Dane won a difficult match against the hard-serving Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, measuring 203 centimeters with 7-6, 6-3.
Although Mpetshi Perricard is only ranked 43rd in the world, he is an unpleasant acquaintance for everyone because of his insanely hard serve.
Rune was already aware of that, as he had lost to the Frenchman nine months ago. But on Tuesday, Rune kept his patience and did not let himself be frustrated by how rarely he managed to get the French serve back into play.
Fifth-seeded Rune, ranked nine in the world, had not played a match since a disappointing first-round exit at Wimbledon a month ago.
Rune had been out of action since his first-round exit at Wimbledon last month, but still made headlines that he had begun a collaboration with Andre Agassi at the Mubadala Citi DC Open.
“He’s obviously an icon, so everybody knows him, his style and everything,” Rune said of their pre-DC Open training bloc. “So, I thought when I reached out him, he would be a good guy to get some mentoring from.”
The Dane was ultimately unable to compete in Washington, D.C. due to a sudden back injury, but showed fine form against Mpetshi Perricard after a first-round bye.