Denmark's hopes of beating Bulgaria in the Davis Cup remain alive in Hillerod. In the fourth match of the tie, Holger Rune secured his second victory in 24 hours following his comeback, leveling the overall score at 2-2.
In the first of Saturday's singles matches, Rune had his back against the wall; things looked bleak when he lost the first set to former world number three Grigor Dimitrov. However, Rune improved as the match progressed, ultimately winning 3-6, 6-3, 7-6.
He claimed the deciding tie-break 7-4 after two hours and 24 minutes of play.
The match was highly entertaining from the outset. Both players adopted an aggressive style, battling for the initiative and producing a flurry of winners.
The match was remarkably evenly contested; it took a full 24 minutes just to complete the first three games. Rune earned five early break points, but Dimitrov’s response was usually a winner right on the line.
The Bulgarian gained increasing momentum, largely because his serving improved and he committed virtually no errors—unlike Rune, who did make mistakes.
Dimitrov converted his first break point to take a 5-3 lead and then served out the set in the following game. Rune appeared to be down and out, but he came roaring back in the second set, winning the first nine points and securing his first break of the match to go up 2-0.
Rune was broken back immediately, but the Dane quickly regained the momentum and controlled the remainder of the set impressively, sealing it 6-3 with a love game. In just his second match following an 11-month absence, it was striking that Rune appeared to hold the physical upper hand from the start of the third set.
Dimitrov looked weary—though the 35-year-old Bulgarian had played a long match against Elmer Moller on Friday, whereas Rune’s match had been shorter. The Dane secured an early break in the third set and conceded very little on his own serve.
Rune had two break points to go up 5-2 but failed to convert them. When Dimitrov subsequently narrowed the gap to 3-4 and went up 30-0 on the Dane’s serve, nerves began to spread, but Rune raised his level and held serve.
The Dane ran into trouble again, however, when serving for the match at 5-4. He fell behind 15-40 and was broken to make it 5-5 after firing a forehand wide. Out of the blue, Dimitrov had the momentum, and Rune committed one error after another. Nevertheless, Rune managed to force the match into a tie-break.
It was the Dane who held his nerve when it mattered most, and by winning the final three points, he clinched the victory.