Holger Rune says cramps got worse as match went on but he never wants to “stop matches”

18-year-old Holger Rune put up an electric performance in the second set of his first-round match at the US Open against world No 1 Novak Djokovic before cramps set in, affecting his movement and game on Tuesday evening.

During the second set, the former top-ranked junior, who matched Djokovic shot-for-shot and got the evening crowd on the Arthur Ashe Stadium chanting his name. But soon after taking the second set, the young Dane started experiencing cramps.

Despite getting medical attention on two changeovers, Rune as unable to recover and found his movement too restricted to give Djokovic a real challenge in the third and fourth sets.

Speaking to the press later, Holger Rune said his cramps got worse as the match went on but he did not want to retire.

“Today (I) was not struggling because of the heat or humidity or anything. It was just I felt in the beginning of the third set my legs started tightening up. I was like, Oh. It just got worse and worse and worse. I never want to stop matches. I want to complete them. I want to try to see if I can find (a) solution. Against a player like Novak it’s tough if you can’t move 100%. Even if you move 100%, you’re not sure you’re going to beat him. It’s tough if you have no legs.”

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