The last man to beat Novak Djokovic has declared he is “not afraid” if a blockbuster third-round Australian Open showdown with Nick Kyrgios eventuates.
Danish teenager Holger Rune, like Kyrgios a former world junior No.1, has long been touted as a future star, but a blistering finish to last year helped propel him into the top 10.
Danish teen Holger Rune goes through his paces at Melbourne Park.Credit:Getty Images
The 19-year-old’s three-set defeat of Djokovic in the Paris Masters final in November was his fifth-straight top-10 scalp at the event, including ousting world No.1 Carlos Alcaraz, Felix Auger Aliassime, Andrey Rublev and Hubert Hurkacz.
That extraordinary run followed a first-round win over triple grand slam champion Stan Wawrinka, who told Rune, now ranked No. 10, afterwards: “My advice to you is that you stop acting like a baby on court.”
Rune also drew the ire of Casper Ruud in a heated exchange at last year’s French Open but looms as one of the best players and biggest personalities in men’s tennis across the next decade or more.
Holger Rune in action at the Adelaide International.Credit:Getty Images
He is a fan of how the sport’s greatest showman, Kyrgios, goes about things and would not only relish the opportunity to share a court with the Australian superstar but would give as good as he got.
“I have to take one match at a time – everybody is tough – but, of course, it could be fun,” Rune said.
“Nick is always playing great. He’s not playing all the tournaments but when he’s playing, he’s on and he’s super dangerous … I’ll take the fight, for sure. I’m not afraid. I’m just going to go out there and play my tennis.
“It’s good for the sport that we have a guy like Nick, who can cheer the crowd like he does. I like it, too – I like to cheer the crowd as well, so I don’t mind him doing that. I think it’s fun.
“It’s better to play with a full stadium that is loud than in front of nobody, so I see it as a positive.”
Those words will be music to the ears of Kyrgios, who took a swipe at his critics this week when news broke that his exhibition match with Djokovic was sold out.
“Wow Nick Kyrgios is bad for the sport! Wow what a disgrace, a national embarrassment! How dare he sell out another stadium, the arrogance,” Kyrgios wrote on Twitter.
Serena Williams’ ex-coach Patrick Mouratoglou now works with Rune and is bullish about his potential, with the teenage prodigy telling The Age he hoped to win a grand slam title as soon as this year.
Something Mouratoglou loves about Rune is his obsession with getting better, a rare trait the world’s elite players possess.
Holger Rune and coach Patrick Mouratoglou.Credit:Getty Images
“I think it all comes from that I love tennis so much, and I watch a lot of tennis, even off the court as well,” Rune said.
“I watch myself – I really enjoy it. I like to watch good tennis, like Federer, Nadal and Novak and these guys.
“It’s obviously different now [than juniors], playing the big guys on the big stage, but I’m really excited about it because all my life I’ve been dreaming to be where I am now and even to go further, so my job is not finished.”
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