Todd Woodbridge: 'Holger Rune has taken on the role of Nick Kyrgios'
Todd Woodbridge , former doubles congenial partner of Mark Woodforde. has come out as a fan of Holger Rune . But also a warning.
by tennisnet.com
last edit: May 05, 2023, 04:39 pm
Todd Woodbridge made the seamless transition from active doubles legend to almost ubiquitous tennis expert and presenter just a few years ago. The now 52-year-old from Sydney is in action at the Laver Cup, for example, at the Australian Open anyway. Todd Woodbridge has now given an interview to the website of the first major of the year. And made an interesting comparison.
"Basically, Holger Rune took over the role of Nick Kyrgios in his generation," Woodbridge explained. “But he has this ambition and this attitude to want to win at all costs. Just like she used to have Lleyton Hewitt.”
Rune angers some colleagues and parts of the audience
In fact, in his short career so far, Holger Rune has already messed with a few competitors (ask Stan Wawrinka), but also with parts of the audience, as was the case last time in Madrid.
“He looks for distractions in his matches by messing with his opponent. And currently, that's often not to Rune's advantage. He's got to learn to hold back more because I think he's making it harder for himself."
And the Australian also had an example ready. Namely the quarter-finals in Roland Garros 2023. “Rune Casper Ruud got on my nerves there. And that's why Ruud played flawlessly. It was such a match that he lost because of his behavior and his immaturity in handling this big opportunity."