A late matchup between Alcaraz and Rune for the winners' and runners-up

At 10 o'clock tonight, the ATP 500 Barcelona final, the world's No. 2 Spanish all-around fighter Alcaraz vs. the world's No. 9 Danish Light Rune, a belated championship and runner-up final between the two has finally arrived.

The first post-00s players to emerge in men's tennis are Italian newcomer Wang Sinner and American star Koda Jr., who reached the round of 16 of a Grand Slam together at the 2020 French Open. At the 2021 US Open, two post-00 players, Canadian cool black Aliassime and Spanish all-round fighter Alcaraz jointly entered the quarterfinals of the Grand Slam.

In the 2022 Miami and Madrid Masters, Alcaraz won two Masters titles successively, and jumped to the leader of the post-00 players in one fell swoop. At the 2022 US Open, Alcaraz soared to the sky, winning the first Grand Slam title of the post-00s, being crowned world No. 1, and the youngest world No. 1 since the introduction of the computer points ranking system in ATP1973.

At the 2022 Paris Masters, another post-00 player killed all sides and amazed the tennis world. Denmark's light Rune burst into the air at the Paris Masters after reaching the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam for the first time at the 2022 French Open.

After defeating Swiss titan and three-time Grand Slam champion Wawrinka in the first round, Rune defeated five of the world's top 10 players in a row (Polish master Hurkacz, Russian golden monkey Rublev, Spanish all-round fighter Alcaraz, Canadian cool black Aliassime, Serbian king Djokovic), becoming the second post-00 player to win the Masters championship after Alcaraz. Rune broke into the top 10 in the world in one fell swoop, and was called the top 10 post-00 troika in the world along with Alcaraz and Aliassime.

In the 2023 season, Rune continued to move forward, while Aliassime gradually fell behind, and Sinner took the opportunity to replace him, alongside Alcaraz and Rune, to destroy the city and win glory for the post-00 players. Rune won the runner-up of Monte Carlo and the Rome Masters in succession, and reached the quarterfinals again at the French Open, and also reached the quarterfinals for the first time at Wimbledon. On August 21, 2023, Rune, who was born in April 2003, reached the fourth highest career world ranking and the eighth ranking in the world at the end of the year.

is such a very young and strong Danish post-00 player Rune, even Serbian king Djokovic is full of praise for him: "He reminds me of myself, strong backhand, excellent defense". Unfortunately, after the second half of the 2023 season, due to frequent injuries and frequent changes of coaches, Rune will not advance in the 2024 season, except for the lackluster record in the semifinals of the Paris Masters, and the world ranking has also fallen out of the top ten immortal class.

Unlike Rune, who struggled on the ATP Tour, Alcaraz and Sinner shone brightly, winning Masters and Grand Slam titles and becoming the only two banners for post-00s players, dwarfing and eclipsing other post-00s players. Alcaraz and Sinner have met 10 times, including two finals (ATP 250 Umag 2022 and Beijing Open 2024).

Rune and Alcaraz have only met three times in their careers. After losing to Alcaraz in the group stage of the 2021 Milan New Talent Finals, Rune received Alcaraz's retirement due injury when he was leading 6-3, 6-6 in the quarter-finals of the 2022 Paris Masters. In the quarterfinals of Wimbledon 2023, Alcaraz defeated Rune in three sets, making Rune's dream of reaching the semifinals of a Grand Slam for the third time come to naught. So far in the 2024 season, Rune has suffered frequent injuries and a decline in form, and he has not even had the opportunity to challenge Alcaraz, let alone stand on the stage of the final and have a fight with Alcaraz.

Entering the 2025 season, the light of Denmark, Rune, has finally awakened, with frequent good news and improved rankings. He reached the fourth round of the Australian Open and lost to eventual champion Sinner. reached the final of the Masters for the fourth time at the Indian Wells Masters, but unfortunately lost to the British left-handed Draper, personally sending this post-00 player to the top ten immortal classes in the world. At the Miami Masters and Monte Carlo Masters, Rune did not perform well and lost his first consecutive matches. However, when it came to ATP 500 Barcelona, Rune played steadily and made great progress, especially in the quarter-finals against the defending champion and Norwegian Light Ruud, and in the semi-finals against the Russian god of thunder Kachanov, showing his excellent form and strong self-confidence. The Danish Light Rune from the fairytale kingdom returned to the top ten immortal classes in the instant world rankings, ranking ninth.

At 10 o'clock tonight, a belated matchup between Alcaraz and Rune finally took place in the ATP 500 Barcelona final. Alcaraz, who won the tournament twice in 2022 and 2023 and did not defend his title in 2024 due to injury, will he be able to disappoint his hometown fathers and elders tonight when he fights on his blessed soil? Rune, who is a week older than Alcaraz, has been up and down last year, but this year he has finally revived, and now that he is back in the top 10 in the world rankings, how eager to celebrate himself with a trophy! Let's look at the two post-00s players, each showing their strengths tonight, how to give it a go?

(Source: Tennis Home Author: Colorful Bean Powder)