Holger Rune interview: “On the court I am passionate, off the court I am not cocky”
Speaking before the Munich final, the 19-year-old Dane discussed his personality, form and goals
Holger Rune, Montpellier 2023 – © JB Autissier / Panoramic
In the space of a year, Holger Rune has turned himself from a talented teenager into a Masters 1000 champion and is now ensconced in the world’s top 10.
In an interview with Jannik Schneider from Munich, conducted for Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung before Rune went on to win the final on Sunday, the Dane discusses his progress, talks about controversy on the court and outlines his goals for the future. A few quotes from the interview were published in a portrait on Monday. The full interview is available on Tennis Majors.
Just over three years ago you were a hitting partner at the ATP Finals in London, practising with the likes of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. After a session with Alexander Zverev and Boris Becker, Becker was asked by Danish TV how good you could be one day. He said “Holger has potential” – was he underestimating a bit, considering everything you have achieved since then?
Holger Rune: No, no he was right in a way and it was a nice and positive thing to say from him. You know potential is one thing. But potential is only a way to start. It is not only about how you play but more about what kind of work ethic and mentality you establish and the way you play your matches. You cannot predict those things, so what he said was fine.
Three titles (before Sunday) including a Masters 1000, No 7 in the world and the final in Monte-Carlo … Besides your success, what has been the biggest change in your life personally and how are you perceived in Denmark?
Honestly since I am ranked high a lot has changed but it is still the same me. It is still hard work and dedication for my sport on and off the court every day. In Denmark, I feel like I get a lot of support from my home country. I feel they only want the best for me.
The more attention tennis gets in Denmark, the happier I am
Holger Rune
So is tennis climbing up the rankings and becoming more popular in your country?
For sure. As a tennis freak, the more attention tennis gets in Denmark, the happier I am. What will help even more is the exhibition match in Copenhagen with me and Nick Kyrgios on May 24. It is a great feeling to attract more people to tennis and this match will certainly help.
You live in Monte-Carlo but recently you bought a cottage in Copenhagen. How difficult is it to balance your focus on your tennis career with taking care of your finances?
I think when you start to do better it comes along. It is not a thing I think about a lot. It is just a bonus. Honestly, I like to be in Denmark. That is why I bought the apartment and the summer cottage and I enjoy to be there although I’m based in Monte-Carlo. But my heart certainly is in Denmark. I have a lot of friends there. I like to come back and see them and in that case I need a place to stay (smiles).
After the match against Sinner in Monte Carlo and the boos from the crowd you said “I like to play like this”. In Germany, the famous goalkeeper – Oliver Kahn – who was so focused on winning that the away teams booed him and he played his best in these circumstances. Can you relate?
Not really. If you play a local guy, and (Jannik) Sinner has a lot of fans there, it is kind of tough. No matter what you do they will scream for him. Either you accept it and then it will be kind of a tough situation or you fight against it. I lost the first set 6-1 and I was like “Oh my god – I can’t continue like this”. I had to find some kind of solution to get back into the match. And through that energy I found it. I really found it.
It feels like over the last year you found a way to use your negative emotions more effectively for motivation?
In the match against Sinner I definitely did. I used some negative emotions as a fuel and I managed to play much better. For the majority of the time, I would say that I play better when I am calm and show positive emotions. But for matches like this, when you are not at your best, especially against guys that are as good as Sinner, you need to find a way. If you do not, you will lose.
I used some negative emotions as a fuel and I managed to play much better. For the majority of the time, I I play better when I am calm.
Holger Rune
You are a fan of Daniel Craig and James Bond. Many people like Bond because he is a bit cocky. Do you want to be seen like this?
Yeah, I have been a fan for a while. It has been a while since the last movie came out but I still watch it from time to time. But I would not say that I am cocky. I am very down to earth. On the court I am different than outside the court. I just think it is because I am so passionate in what I do. I am very competitive. But when I am off the court I’m not like this, I am not cocky.
Some fans enjoy aggro of the kind we saw between Medvedev and Zverev in Monte-Carlo, but others object. How do we find the right balance, when tennis is fighting for prominence against other sports?
That is actually a very good question. You cannot have 100 players in the top 100 and all of them are best friends with each other. There always will be some moments and things will happen like for example between Zverev and Medvedev. For us as players it would certainly be easier if we would just handle it by ourselves so that it would not come out. But for the fans, for the public and to gain even new fans, it is cool to have some personalities and some things happen and come out. It has to happen a bit more than just hitting the ball back. Fans admire the sport but also characters. If you can show it to a certain point then it is a positive thing for the sport.
Are you ready and open for tennis to become louder in stadiums?
Absolutely! It cannot get too loud if you ask me. I was attending a basketball match recently, and it was so fun to see people walking around during play, enjoying the music and the match. I went to watch Paris St. Germain play football and all of a sudden there was this big noise and the fans enjoyed it but the players stayed fully focused. If this had been a tennis match everyone involved would have said “What is going on? »
At around this time last year, a player told me that you answer fan questions on your Instagram profile by yourself and people loved it. Do you have still time to do that?
Yeah, sometimes I still do it. Of course after long tournaments and a lot of tasks it is difficult to do it. When I had the time I was more than happy to do it when they had questions. Sometimes I still have a bit of time and hope to continue that.
Carlos Alcaraz and you were born within a few days and the match-up between the both of you looks perfect for a big rivalry, doesn’t it?
Actually the rivalry was bigger in juniors. We played each other on the pro tour only twice. In juniors we played maybe nine, 10 times. For sure we know each other well. It is great to see that players like him, Musetti, Sinner – who played juniors at a similar time – can reach this kind of level.
Alcaraz is incredible physically. After you had problems with cramps from time to time, it seems you have stepped up now.
Yeah, I’m good with this topic. I only cramped once this year in Acapulco in incredibly humid conditions. It is definitely a topic I handle better now. I have control over it.
Did you see any specialists to take control over it?
Yeah, I did. I sweat a lot so I lose a lot of water and that made me cramp. We did some blood tests and stuff to see what I need to do to prevent that and take care of my body.
After you won the Masters in Paris you said your goal is to get to No 1 in 2023. Is this still your goal for this year or is this goal delayed?
It is still my goal. It is still possible and it is still something I believe in.
