Rune handles late matchup change, knocks off Bautista Agut in Montreal opener

After withdrawing from the Olympics with a wrist injury, Holger Rune made a successful return to competition with an opening win Tuesday at the Omnium Banque National présenté par Rogers. In his first hard-court match since Miami, Rune dominated early and late in a 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 victory against lucky loser Roberto Bautista Agut.

Now 13-2 in his opening rounds this season, including 6-1 on hard courts, Rune will next meet Pablo Carreno Busta, who saved two match points to edge Fabian Maroszan at the Montreal ATP Masters 1000.

"It was a challenge for sure," Rune said. "It's never easy coming back after a little break — not the longest break, but for me, I'm very young and luckily I haven't been injured much. It was difficult but I think I managed to find the rhythm quickly. I didn't manage to sustain it in the second set. He played good, was feeling free. It was kind of an extra chance that he got to play a match. Happy that I could get through."

Holger moves 🔛

Rune takes his first win in Montreal with a 6-2 3-6 6-2 win against Bautista Agut 🔥@OBNmontreal | #OBN24 pic.twitter.com/y44iEtqZWi

— ATP Tour (@atptour) August 7, 2024

Just minutes before the match, Bautista Agut replaced Milos Raonic, who withdrew with a shoulder injury. The Spaniard played two matches and six sets Tuesday, competing for more than five hours across defeats to Thanasi Kokkinakis in qualifying and Rune in the main draw.

"It was kind of tricky. It's two completely different game styles," Rune said of the late change. "I kind of had to adjust from one tactic to another in five minutes. Luckily I played Bautista before so I had a clue, and obviously he's been on Tour for many years, so I know him very well.

"It was not easy. I was expecting a big server and trying to manage to get in the rallies with Milos, and now it was a completely different story. I needed to attack much more and play on my terms."

Rune did just that, hitting 39 winners in the two-hour match, according to Infosys ATP Stats. The victory improved his record to 2-0 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series against Bautista Agut.

At No. 17 in the PIF ATP Rankings, Rune is seeking his first title of the season this week in Montreal. His best result of 2024 is a runner-up finish in Brisbane.

Alejandro Tabilo closed out play on centre court with a 6-4, 6-2 win against Frances Tiafoe, claiming his first Top 30 win on hard courts (1-6) by beating the No. 27 in the PIF ATP Rankings.

The 15th seed won eight of the final 10 games from 4-4 in the opening set. Tabilo is seeded in an ATP Masters 1000 for the second time. In the previous instance, he reached his first semi-final at that prestigious level earlier this season in Rome as the 29th seed.

Next up for the 27-year-old in Montreal is a second-round meeting with Lorenzo Sonego, who beat Tallon Griekspoor 7-6(7), 5-7, 6-4 in the opening round.