Rune “trusting the process” despite 10th top-five loss in a row
After winning seven of his first eight matches against top-five opponents, Rune has now lost 10 in a row
Chryslene Caillaud / Panoramic
When Holger Rune first became a regular on the ATP Tour a little over three years ago, he began with a crash and a bang.
After losing to Novak Djokovic in 2021, Rune went on to win seven consecutive matches against top five opposition. Names like Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz, Alexander Zverev, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Daniil Medvedev and Casper Ruud all fell to the Dane over the next 18 months.
But in the past year, Rune’s run has come to an abrupt and dramatic halt.
His loss to Djokovic in the Wimbledon round of 16 on Monday signified the 10th match in a row he’s lost against top five opposition over the past 14 months.
Rune not phased by top five record
With such a marked down turn in results, is it time for Rune to panic? He doesn’t think so.
“I think that obviously when you’re new on the tour, players don’t know you that well,” explained Rune.
“This makes it not easier, but it makes it more difficult for the top guys because they don’t know where my strengths are and my weaknesses are. They just got to go with the flow on the court and try to find solutions.
“Also, coming on the Tour, there are not many statistics on me, where I serve, where I’m strongest. They don’t know it that well. Where now they know it extremely well because obviously I’m playing almost every week.
“But at the same time, I mean, I’m improving. I should be improving. Yeah, it’s just about trusting the process. Yeah, I’m going to try to be back at my best level and improve.”
The 21-year-old will be hoping for another opportunity to play a top five opponent, with the Dane now preparing for his Olympics campaign later this month in Paris.
