Holger Rune: "Roger Federer was maybe 40 times worse than me as a teenager"
Holger Rune not only made friends with his appearances in Roland Garros. To justify his behavior on the court, the Dane has now chosen a daring comparison. And with Roger Federer.
by Michael Rothschädl
last edit: Jun 20, 2022, 10:32 am
Holger Rune shaped the French Open 2022 to a not inconsiderable extent. Understandably so, because the narrative of the youngsters, who have slowly but surely arrived to not only annoy the established world leaders at the biggest tournaments, but also to defeat them, it works. Especially when the results play along - such as Runes' four-set win over last year's finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas.
With all the media hype about the Dane, however, critical voices also increased during the course of the tournament, especially regarding the youngster's behavior on the court. Mother Rune left the coach box during the quarter-final duel between son Holger and Norwegian Casper Ruud without further ado after the 19- year-old had let out (too) loudly in this direction.
Ruud and Rune in clinch
It was also with the Norwegian, with whom there should be a more than ugly and unnecessary mud fight after the meeting. Rune accused his opponent of cheering provocatively in his face in the dressing room, Ruud rejected these accusations as outright lies. And told his opponent to reconsider his behavior - and, on occasion, to think about growing up a little bit.
Rune also announced that (i.e. primarily the first) after the French Open, which is why the Dane also commented on what was happening at the Bois de Boulogne in a recent conversation with Ekstra Bladet: “I have an extreme passion for this sport, and sometimes I show it them too much," Rune initially said. "But I'm 19, I'm still young and I work every day to bring out only the positive in my attitude and that's a process."
"Federer 40 times worse"
However, a comparison is daring, which the 19-year-old puts aside as a kind of justification for his behavior: "If you saw Roger Federer as a teenager, he was maybe 40 times worse than me - and he is one of the most popular tennis players on the tour . So I think I still have a lot of time to get an even better image."
The Dane already has a not insignificant proportion of the spectators behind him, which can also be attributed to his attitude, as Rune emphasizes: "I think it's a cool passion that I play with and I have the feeling that the spectators like to see my matches at the tournaments," said the youngster. "They cheer me on and the whole crowd cheered me on against both Tsitsipas and Ruud at the French Open."