Djokovic, who will lose the number one place in the world to the benefit of the Spanish Carlos Alcaraz next Monday, will thus appear in Paris with a modest record of five wins and three losses in three tournaments played on clay in 2023.
At 20 years old, Rune scored his second consecutive victory against the Serbian, after the one achieved at the Masters 1000 in Paris in November.
For a place in the final, he will face the world number four, the Norwegian Casper Ruud, or the Argentine Francisco Cerúndolo (31st), who meet on Wednesday afternoon.
Almost without making an appearance in the first set, in which he multiplied errors and had to call the medical services, Djokovic recovered his game somewhat in the second, and after a long interruption due to rain, with 5-4 and 0 -30 in his favor, managed to equalize a set.
But the Dane later took the reins of the match with authority, played under a persistent drizzle, with a double break to escape 4-0 and then 5-1. He closed the duel with his service, after 2 hours and 18 minutes.
“I remain humble, of course. I have a lot to achieve. I think you always have to be humble, I think I am, I hope so, and I hope that people see me like that,” said Rune, who confessed that he was a “great admirer of Djokovic “.
‘Nole’, a six-time winner in Rome, had not lost in the quarterfinals in the Italian capital for ten years.