Shanghai Masters 2024: Holger Rune vs Matteo Berrettini preview, head-to-head, prediction, odds, and pick
Match Details
Fixture: (12) Holger Rune vs Matteo Berrettini
Date: October 5, 2024
Tournament: Shanghai Masters 2024
Round: Second Round (Round of 64)
Venue: Qizhong Forest Sports City Arena, Shanghai, China
Category: ATP Masters 1000
Surface: Hard
Prize Money: $8,995,555
Live Telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Sky Sports | Canada - TSN
Holger Rune vs Matteo Berrettini preview
Twelfth seed Holger Rune will square off against former top 10 player Matteo Berrettini in the second round of the Shanghai Masters 2024.
Despite a 36-20 record this year, Rune has been inconsistent with his results. He started the season with a runner-up finish at the Brisbane International and then oscillated between a deep run and an early exit over the next two months.
Rune showed promise at the start of the clay swing with a quarterfinal finish at the Monte-Carlo Masters. However, he made earlier-than-expected exits from the Madrid Open and the Italian Open and wrapped up his time on the red dirt with a fourth-round finish at the French Open.
The Dane also reached the fourth round at Wimbledon. A semifinal showing at the Cincinnati Open didn't translate into a respectable result at the US Open, where he crashed out in the first round. He fell at the first hurdle at the Hangzhou Open as well, though he progressed to the semifinals of the Japan Open. He received a bye into the second round here.
Berrettini faced Christopher O'Connell in his opener here. Both sets played out similarly, with the Italian sneaking past his opponent in two tie-breaks to register a 7-6 (9), 7-6 (6) win.
Holger Rune vs Matteo Berrettini head-to-head
Rune leads Berrettini 3-1 in the head-to-head. The Dane won their previous encounter at this year's Cincinnati Open in three sets.
Holger Rune vs Matteo Berrettini odds
(Odds are sourced from BetMGM)
Holger Rune vs Matteo Berrettini prediction
Berrettini won 75 percent of his first serve points against O'Connell and hit an equal number of winners and unforced errors, 33. He will aim to secure his first win over Rune since the Indian Wells Masters 2022.
While Rune has tallied three wins over the Italian since then, the latter wasn't at his best physically in two of them and even retired from one of their matches. However, the 21-year-old staged an impressive comeback to emerge victorious in their recent tussle in Cincinnati.
Rune neutralized Berrettini's biggest asset, his serve, back then, and will need to do the same again. His semifinal showing in Tokyo indicated that he's slowly inching back to his best after a couple of disappointing results.
Furthermore, Berrettini has lost both his matches against the top 20 players on hardcourts this year. He will need to up his game if he wishes for a different outcome this time. Rune, meanwhile, has gone 34-12 against players ranked outside the top 20. Based on his record, he has a better shot to one-up the Italian again.
Pick: Holger Rune to win in three sets.