Sleeveless Rune navigates Nishioka's challenge in first round

After reaching the Brisbane final to open his 2024 season, Holger Rune is off and running in his bid for another deep run at the Australian Open. Sporting a new look in a sleeveless shirt, the Dane overcame hot conditions and a stern test from Yoshihito Nishioka on Tuesday in Melbourne to advance to the second round with a 6-2, 4-6, 7-6(3), 6-4 victory.

"It's tough but it's always exciting to start the first round," the 20-year-old said in his on-court interview in Pat Rafter Arena. "The conditions were hot and dry, so it was difficult to find the right pace. The ball was fast. But again, it was great to start with a match like this."

Finding the sweet spot 🎯@holgerrune2003 hits 71 winners past Yoshihito Nishioka to kickstart his 2024 @AustralianOpen campaign.#AusOpen pic.twitter.com/yP5btwxtKK

— ATP Tour (@atptour) January 16, 2024

The three-hour, 29-minute match hinged on a dramatic conclusion to the third set. After Nishioka saved a set point to hold for 5-5, he pushed Rune to two deuces in the very next game. A disjointed tie-break saw six of 10 points go against serve, but Rune claimed the set with authority, whipping a forehand winner before soaking in the applause of the Aussie crowd. He finished the match with 71 winners.

"It was a very important set," Rune said of the third. "It was back and forth. He had his chances, I had my chances. It was a key set for who got the lead in the match. I'm happy that I got it, but I was going to fight anyway. I'm just happy to play some very good tennis at the end."

Rune carried that momentum into the fourth set with an instant break and did not face a break point in the set, capping his victory with a love hold. The result levels the pair's Lexus ATP Head2Head series at 1-1, giving Rune a measure of revenge after Nishioka's three-set win in Adelaide last season.

Rune reached the Australian Open fourth round last year by picking up his first three wins at the event, but was turned back in a memorable five-set matchup against Andrey Rublev. If the seeds hold this year, Rune will face Daniil Medvedev in the quarter-finals. But first he must turn his attention to French wild card Arthur Cazaux, who beat Laslo Djere 6-2, 6-7(3), 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 earlier on Tuesday.

Rune's eighth seed at this year's Australian Open is one higher than his ninth seed in 2023. In between, the Dane broke into the Top 5 of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings for the first time, reaching a high of No. 4 in August.