It’s not like Holger Rune appeared out of nowhere in the tennis cosmos. In September 2021, he attracted attention with an Ikea shopping bag. For his biggest match up to that point, he marched onto the pitch at the US Open in New York with the blue bag called Fracta, purchase price one euro, and enthused after bravely defending himself against Novak Djokovic and stealing a sentence from the favorite: ” It’s a nice bag. I can put all my drinks in it and bananas.”
At that time he was number 145 in the world. In April, respect was paid to him when he played and won two matches at two tournaments in two locations on the same day. First he won the final of the Challenger in Sanremo, then in the car, off to Monte-Carlo, victory in round one of the qualification. “The day before was already tough because I was thinking about how to organize everything,” he said. Back then he was number 91.
Since this Monday, Holger Rune, the 19-year-old ranking climber from Copenhagen, has been number ten. A male Danish professional has never been this high. At the Masters series tournament in Paris-Bercy, he not only managed the feat of defeating five top ten players in a row, but also the 21-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic in the final on Sunday, 3: 6 , 6:3, 7:5. “You absolutely deserved this win,” said the Serb at the ceremony in Paris-Bercy to Rune, who previously (after the opening win against the Swiss Stan Wawrinka) the Pole Hubert Hurkacz, the Russian Andrej Rublew, the Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz (task ) and defeated Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime: “What an extraordinary week. I’m not happy that you beat me, but I’m happy for you because I like your personality.”
Rune, Djokovic felt, was a “very committed guy” who loved tennis – “I’m sure your future will shine”. Not only do Rune’s playful and physical abilities speak for this. This is also supported by his nature, his attitude, his ambition.
Novak Djokovic raves about Carlos Alcaraz and Holger Rune: “They are very complete players for 19-year-olds.”
Djokovic made a legitimate comparison in this regard. “He has some elements that remind me of me when I was his age.” Rune has a pronounced “competitive spirit”, is “very convinced, dare the blows”. This was particularly evident in Rune’s last service game in the final. For around 20 minutes he fought to complete his break to 6: 5 in the third set with the triumph. Rune was tough as gum and wouldn’t be shaken off by Djokovic, who missed six break points, uncharacteristic of him. Rune attacked. Sometimes with the serve volley variant, sometimes with the hard forehand or backhand. Sometimes he threw in a stop ball. Rune explained that he used his “young strength” and his “willpower”. He really thinks he can win against anyone.
As of this week at the latest, the competition knows: The athletic Rune, equipped with skier’s legs, is serious. Announcements like the small ATP tournament in Munich in the spring that he wanted to be number one no longer sound like a boy’s dream. In Munich he had first defeated Alexander Zverev and then won the title with the car, which was a funny story. He didn’t even have a driver’s license, the upstart who likes to smile and uses the word “happy” was so young. However, Rune takes defeats personally, that was the case even as a child, as his mother Aneke, who always accompanied him, said at the French Open when her son advanced to the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam for the first time. He finished second when he was seven and was so pissed off that he didn’t want to lift the trophy.
“I’m not happy that you beat me, but I’m happy for you because I like your personality”: Novak Djokovic (left) after his loss to Holger Rune.
(Photo: Antonio Borga/HMB Media/Imago)
With his biggest triumph earning him €836,355, Rune has now joined a group of young rivals already established at the top, Alcaraz, Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas, Auger-Aliassime, American Taylor Fritz. It’s not yet possible to speak of a revolution or an overthrow, but a trend continues with Rune’s coup: the boys surround the industry giants Djokovic and Rafael Nadal and take advantage of opportunities, which of course also arose this season because Nadal is often battered or injured and Djokovic was not allowed to enter Australia and the USA due to a lack of corona vaccination and missed important tournaments. The resignation of Roger Federer in mid-September also meant the most noticeable turning point in men’s tennis this year. At the same time, the boys also won a few duels with Djokovic and Nadal.
This gives the picture that Djokovic and Nadal would like to stretch the time in order to achieve last-minute victories, but the younger challengers cannot take power fast enough. In any case, the respect for this goal-oriented generation is great. Asked about world number one Carlos Alcaraz, for whom the season ended after an abdominal muscle injury, and Rune, Djokovic replied: “They are very complete players for 19-year-olds. That’s very impressive. Also their energy, their will, their motivation and Staying mentally in the present is impressive.”
Rune, who actually wanted to compete in Milan at the next-gen final of the best young professionals, has withdrawn his start – and is traveling as the first candidate to the ATP finals in Turin, to the big boys. “I didn’t expect any of this four or five weeks ago,” said Rune, most recently in four finals in a row, “but here I am.”