Holger Rune packs his bags early at Wimbledon: Nicolas Jarry finds redemption in epic 5-set comeback

Nicolas Jarry delivered another surprise on the opening day of Wimbledon, coming back from two sets down against Holger Rune. The Chilean entered the tournament as World No. 145 but secured his first top-10 victory in over a year to eliminate 8th seed Rune with a score of 4-6, 4-6, 7-5, 6-3, 6-4.

The Chilean executed a masterful finish in the most complicated moments, securing one of the most epic victories of his career. Rune fails to defend his 4th round appearance from 2024, and despite arriving as one of the favorites, he becomes the second male top-10 player to exit the tournament on the first day, after Daniil Medvedev.

The Dane started in the best possible way in the first set, taking absolute control of the match after two consecutive breaks, which put him ahead 4-0. The European had won 16 of the first 18 points contested against a disconnected Jarry, who seemed unable to offer much opposition to Rune after a shaky start on serve – one of the South American's great strengths.

Jarry managed to recover one of the breaks, though it ended up being merely anecdotal for the result. Rune easily held serve and took the set 6-4, winning an incredible 93% of points on his first serve. However, Rune had struggled on return, after Jarry won 12 consecutive points on his serve before the set ended.

Things seemed to even out in the second set, with both players starting by saving a couple of break opportunities early on. Rune maintained his composure on serve remarkably, had a streak of up to 15 consecutive points on his serve, and took advantage of a single break opportunity in the 7th game to take the lead.

Jarry had a chance to recover with a break point in his favor at 4-5, but Rune ultimately held a complicated game with good first serves, securing the second set – again 6-4 – and what seemed like an almost insurmountable lead.

The Chilean maintained good momentum on his serve in the second set, although Rune didn't let up. The 29-year-old South American this time kept the lead on serve and squandered a set point on return in the 10th game, which kept Rune even at 5-5.

However, Jarry stepped on the accelerator in the decisive part, getting a break in the 12th game – avoiding a tie-break – and starting an epic comeback with a 7-5 win. Jarry had conceded only 6 points on his serve and tallied 8 aces and 17 winners, always being more aggressive than his opponent.

Jarry maintained his focus on his serve at the start of the second set, and managed to get a break by taking advantage of a double fault by the Dane on break point in the second game. Despite a good battle, after 15 minutes, Jarry was comfortably up 3-0. With the set at 5-2 in Jarry's favor, Rune called a medical time-out during the changeover due to supposed knee discomfort, though Rune hadn't shown physical problems on the court.

The break didn't unsettle Jarry, who, despite wasting a couple of set points on return at 2-5, ended up closing out the set 6-3, once again impeccable on serve, with 10 aces and conceding only three points on serve throughout the set.

The match's conclusion was the most epic part, where both had chances to take the lead. In the 4th game, Rune got a break point opportunity, but Jarry pulled ahead with an ace and three first serves that gave him the calm to stay in the game.

The parity held at 4-4, with Jarry always coming from behind on serve. However, it was the Chilean who gained confidence in the final part, and after a couple of long exchanges, he secured the key points before closing out the victory – perhaps one of the most emotional of his career. A 4-6, 4-6, 7-5, 6-3, 6-4 victory to advance to the second round, where he will face Learner Tien.