Rune’s 21 wins in five months indoors: “This surface suits my game perfectly”

Holger Rune is in the quarter-finals of the Montpellier tournament, where he will face Gregoire Barrere

Holger Rune (JB Autissier / Panoramic)

February 10, 2023

Call him Mr. Indoor! Since the end of the US Open in September 2022, Holger Rune is the most successful player on the ATP’s indoor hard courts with 21 wins and only three losses on this surface.

The Dane made his mark with a title in Stockholm by beating Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final and then a first prestigious Masters 1000 trophy at the Rolex Paris Masters by defeating Novak Djokovic in the final. He can now claim to be the last player to have beaten the Serbian on the ATP circuit.

“The indoor hard court suits my game perfectly,” said the ninth-ranked player in the world in a press conference after his victory over Marc-Andrea Huesler in the second round of the Open Sud de France in Montpellier. “It’s not particularly my favourite surface, but my game is very effective indoors, and also on outdoor hard court.

Watch also

Eye of the Coach #57: Holger Rune is young but not scared of anybody – and he knows how to win

Tennis Majors

“I have to make sure that now it’s the same on all surfaces, and that’s what I’m trying to do, I’m working hard for that. I’ve already had some good results on clay, so that’s encouraging.”

Rune was “prepared for battle” against Huesler

Rune is now on a seven-match winning streak on indoor hardcourts and doesn’t intend to stop there. Playing in Montpellier for the first time in his career, the 19-year-old player is seeded No 1 and is the favourite for the tournament, along with No 2 seed Jannik Sinner. On Thursday, the Dane made a good start to the tournament against Marc-Andrea Huesler, who had beaten him in their first two meetings on the ATP circuit.

“I was prepared for the match, I knew he would play very well against me. The first set was very long but I won it and then I managed to break free. In the second set, I broke twice and then the dynamics changed completely. I am very satisfied to have won this first match in Montpellier.

“I had to play my best tennis and that’s what I tried to do. I managed to play long and aggressive, it was a good match on my side. Marc-Andrea is a very dangerous player who had beaten me twice. His left-handed forehand is very effective so I had to keep him moving so he didn’t feel too confident on the court.”

Through to the quarter-finals of the Open Sud de France in Montpellier, Rune, who is off to the best start of his career, will face Frenchman Gregoire Barrere for a spot in the semi-finals on Friday. This will be the first time the two men have faced each other on the ATP Tour.