Holger Rune set for long-awaited return from injury ahead of French Open

Holger Rune will return to action at next month’s Hamburg Open after ⁠having Achilles surgery in October, tournament organisers said on Thursday.

Three-time Grand Slam ​quarter-finalist Rune suffered a season-ending Achilles tendon ⁠rupture in ​the Stockholm ⁠Open semi-finals last year, when he was up a ⁠set against Ugo Humbert.

Days ​later, ⁠he returned to ‌the top 10 in the world rankings, despite losing ‌out on a second ‌title of the year.

Yet six months on, now ranked 29 in the world, the 22-year-old Dane has confirmed his comeback tournament at the ATP 500 event in Hamburg, taking place a week before the French Open at Roland Garros.

“The hard work starts in Hamburg. I can’t ⁠wait to be back on clay at the Bitpanda Hamburg Open and to finally experience the atmosphere on site again after such a long ‌break,” the 22-year-old Dane ​said in a statement.

The ‌Hamburg Open ⁠starts on 16 May, with ⁠Germany’s world number three Alexander Zverev ‌also ​taking part. Rune is still on the entry list for the Masters 1000 event in Rome at the start of May, but his participation has not been confirmed.

The French Open takes place from 24 May to 7 June this year.

Meanwhile, Monaco’s Valentin Vacherot could barely have scripted ​his second career win over a top-five player better after he defeated world number five Lorenzo Musetti 7-6(6) 7-5 in front of a joyous ⁠home crowd at the Monte-Carlo Masters on Wednesday.

The victory made the 27-year-old just the second Monegasque, after his half-brother and coach Benjamin Balleret, to reach the Monte-Carlo Masters ⁠third round.

It also marked his ​second ⁠win over a top-five-ranked opponent, following his triumph over 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak ⁠Djokovic, en route to his maiden ATP title ​at ⁠the Shanghai Masters last ‌year.

Reuters