Jannik Sinner stands firmly in Holger Rune’s way to secure his position in the ATP top 10 ranking

To secure his position in the ATP top 10 ranking, Denmark’s Holger Rune has to beat the most in-form player of the season- Jannik Sinner . At the Monte-Carlo Masters, Rune will lock horns with Sinner in the quarterfinals on Friday (April 12).

While Sinner eased past Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff in straight sets 6-4, 6-2, Rune dealt with a tough challenge from Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov. The match was stretched to the decider where the Dane saved two match points and defeated this year’s Miami Open finalist with a scoreline of 7-6(11-9), 3-6, 7-6(7-2).

Sinner avenged the defeat he faced at the Brisbane International final from Dimitrov’s hands. It was the World No.7 player’s only final he reached this year. So to advance into another summit clash and save his spot in top 10, Rune has a big challenge ahead of him. Sinner just lost a single match this season.

Rune and Sinner faced each other three times on the ATP Tour, with the Dane leading the head-to-head record by winning two matches. They last locked horns at the 2023 Nitto ATP Finals, where the Italian registered his first win over Rune. In their only encounter on clay in last year’s Monte-Carlo Masters, Rune won in three sets.

The 20-year-old is a decent player on clay courts. Last year in the tournament, he reached the final but Andrey Rublev defeated him to win the title. The Dane is also a two-time quarterfinalist at the French Open, reaching 2022 and 2023.

Jannik Sinner is inching closer to No.1 spot

The 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic sat quite comfortably at the top position of the ATP rankings. But his spot is in danger now as a defeat at the Monte-Carlo Masters means Sinner inching closer to dethroning him from the top spot.

Sinner is guaranteed to remain in the second spot as Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz, who used to be the second-ranked player, withdrew from the Monte-Carlo Masters. But to reach the No.1 spot, Sinner needs to advance into the semifinals as well.

On clay courts, Djokovic and Alcaraz have a lot more points to defend than the Italian. So if everything goes as planned for Sinner in this clay season, he may become the first from Italy to become a World No.1 player.

Sinner recently dethroned Alcaraz from second spot after winning the Miami Open by beating Grigor Dimitrov in the final. That also made the Italian the first player from his country to become a second-ranked player.