Holger Rune: “I’m not the bad boy”

Holger Rune (Gentofte, 2003) arrives at the press room and finds it empty. Just a few minutes ago, the room was full of journalists for the intervention of Cameron Norrie, also for Carlos Alcaraz, his enemy on the circuit, but Rune, a shy boy outside the track and hyperactive and volcanic here, meets the sadness of the press.

The reason, the final match between Katie Boulter and Jodie Burrage in Nottingham, the first British final in the WTA since 1977. An event that made the English present at Queen’s glued to the television and not occupying the Rune.

The Dane, despite his controversial and controversial attitude on the court, appears to be a gentle and shy person in front of the EFE microphone, taking the opportunity to investigate the figure of one of the rising stars of racket sport.

Question: You’ve never won an official match on grass, how does it feel to be back on this surface?

Answer: I feel great and I really want to compete, because I haven’t played on grass for a year. Hopefully I can adjust well to the surface and find my best tennis here.

How does it feel to deal with the public, when they don’t support you, when they cheat you? How do they consider you the bad boy of this sport?

I’m not a bad boy, that’s for sure. It is normal that at some point these situations happen to you (boos, public against), because many tennis players on the circuit have experienced similar things. Win or lose. The key is knowing how to control it. For me it’s not a problem, obviously it’s nice when the public is on your side, but if not, you can’t give up and lose the game. You have to stay calm and find a way to win the match.

You and Carlos Alcaraz have known each other since you were kids, since you were twelve years old and played doubles together at Les Petit As, how is your relationship with the Spaniard?

It’s great, because we’ve known each other for years, we’ve played doubles and stuff. To see him doing so well is great, his game is incredible and he is still so young. It’s great to see players you grew up with on the circuit, because you know them better. When you come to the circuit there are not many young people, so it is nice to see that Alcaraz or Musetti, for example, are also here. And I have good friendship with all of them.

Do you want to make a duel with Alcaraz? To play big games against him?

I hope. We’ve played twice so far and both were great games. I hope in the future we will have many more matches.

How far can it go in the grass? Because Kyrgios has said that only he can beat Novak Djokovic on this surface.

The first thing I need to do is to win an official match on this surface, before I can say anything. There is no disputing that Djokovic is the big favorite for this year’s Wimbledon, he is definitely the one everyone expects him to win, but in this sport anything is possible. We will see.

You, Musetti, Alcaraz, came to the circuit with the pressure that comes after a generation of tennis players who won 20 Grand Slams, when the rare thing for them was to win six, seven or eight. People now expect 20 to win, and that’s almost impossible. Do you think winning 20 Grand Slams is impossible?

I don’t think it’s impossible, but only three men have managed it…

It’s just refreshing, that’s why those three are the best in all of history. Many have won one, two or three Grand Slams, but winning so many is absolutely crazy, it is extraordinary, because I have experienced it in my body, what it costs to reach the quarterfinals in a Grand Slam; the effort is greater than reaching the Masters 1,000 final or winning the Masters 1,000. Winning those tournaments, 20 or more times, takes something special, but there are some of us out there who want to give that extra something.