Holger Rune saved two match points and later recovered from 2/6 and 5/8 in a final-set tie-break to edge Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in a Saturday thriller at Wimbledon. The sixth-seeded Dane won the final five points of the match to gut out a 6-3, 4-6, 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(10-8) victory and advance to the fourth round for the third straight time at a major.

At 8/8 in the decisive tie-break, Davidovich Fokina tried to spring a surprise underarm serve, which he followed to the net. But he was thwarted by the fast feet and faster thinking of Rune, who ripped a forehand passing shot to bring up his first match point. Moments later, the Spaniard netted a forehand to bring a close to the three-hour, 58-minute epic on No. 3 Court.

“I was not expecting for sure that that was going to come,” Rune said of the underarm serve, later calling the match one of the most fun he’s ever played. “Actually it was nice, because he was serving unbelievable. So I was like, ‘OK, it’s a chance to get a match point.’ Again, I was not expecting it, so I had to be fast on the feet. But wow, what a match!”

[BREAK POINT]

Rune saved two match points on serve at 5-4, 15/40 to extend the match, using a fearless net approach to erase one and a big serve for the other. His move forward on the first match point save was one of 42 net points won for the Dane on 73 attempts.

The fine margins of the match were borne out in the statistics, with four breaks for each man on a combined 30 break chances. Both players produced a positive winners-to-unforced-errors ratio (Rune 61-57, Davidovich Fokina 46-41) and both won 58 per cent of their net points and 34 per cent of return points.

The shotmaking from both players was also equally brilliant, perhaps peaking when a retreating Davidovich Fokina whipped a desperate lob square onto the baseline to open up an 8/5 lead in the decisive tie-break. Rune did much of his best work at net, showing quick reactions to block back powerful blasts from his opponent and soft hands to handle volleys at his feet.

Pure heart ❤️‍🔥 @holgerrune2003 reaches the second week of @Wimbledon for the first time! 👏#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/GnjsG2dkzu

— ATP Tour (@atptour) July 8, 2023

His Saturday victory levelled his Lexus ATP Head2Head series with Davidovich Fokina at 1-1 and earned him a measure of revenge after the Spaniard beat him earlier this year in Madrid, with that match also decided by a final-set tie-break.

Rune, who lost in the first round of his Wimbledon debut last season, will next face 10th seed Frances Tiafoe or 21st seed Grigor Dimitrov as he bids for his third major quarter-final. The 20-year-old has reached the quarter-final stage each of the past two years at Roland Garros, his only two appearances at the clay-court Grand Slam.

Dimitrov led Tiafoe 6-2, 6-3, 2-1 when rain halted play for the evening on No. 2 Court, shortly after the conclusion of Rune’s victory.

“It’s a great moment for sure,” Rune said after his win. “I’m super happy to be in the fourth round here. Actually [this tournament] is the first time I ever won a match here, so it’s going much better than I expected.”