Holger Rune makes winning start in Monte Carlo by beating Thiem

Dominic Thiem played a fair match at the Monte-Carlo Masters but he wasn't as sharp as he needed to be to take down Holger Rune who won 6-2 6-4.

Rune established himself as an excellent clay player early in his career and has since then broadened his horizons to other surfaces as well. Still, clay is where he'll always feel most comfortable and he looked very happy about being back on the court sliding and gliding. Taking on Thiem is not as daunting as it would have been a few years ago but the Austrian played pretty well.

He was still beaten easily in the first set that Rune won 6-2. Thiem was unable to generate too much pressure on Rune's serve as it was excellent but he also struggled to counter his aggressive approach when Rune returned. The Dane had 17 winners in the first set and only two unforced errors. It's hard to play much better than that.

The second set was quite a bit more competitive as Thiem raised his level with the forehand finally looking decent again. Rune held his good level overall and it was just a very good performance from both players. Ultimately Rune was able to get the break he needed and then finish off the match 6-4.

The only break points he faced in the second set came in that final game of the match. And incredible 39 winners for the Danish rising star.