Rune: “I try to be positive and see the bright side of things”

The Norwegian tennis player analyzed his five-set victory against Argentine Francisco Cerúndolo in the round of 16 at Roland Garros 2023.

tournament draw

tournament results

Holger Rune narrowly escaped the debacle in the round of 16 of Roland Garrossecond Grand Slam it’s from the season. The Danish tennis player had to battle beautifully to beat the Argentine Francisco Cerundolo, 23 of the ATP ranking, in a match full of ups and downs that ended up being decided in the tiebreak of the fifth set.

There Rune was more accurate, taking the decisive game by 10-7 to date Casper Ruud in the quarterfinals, the same rival against whom he lost last year in the same round of this same tournament. In the press room, the world number six valued the increases to the net as one of the keys to his victory and acknowledged that he did not see the double bounce at the time during a point in the third set that ended with his rival losing his match. service.

In addition, the Dane explained that he always tries to be optimistic and that he will try to change the dynamics of last year’s clash against the aforementioned Ruud, where he lost in four sets.

A closely contested match

“It has been hard, very closed. A very long match, with a multitude of exchanges. He played well, he had a great tournament and he made things very difficult for me. Finally, I was able to find solutions like going to the net, For example. I think that was one of the keys.”.

The double pot controversy

“When I was hitting the ball, I didn’t know, I just ran towards it. Later I saw it on television, I saw that there had been a double pot. I’m sorry, I’m sorry for him. I broke his serve, I kept it in the next game but then he broke back and everything was very even again. This is tennis, this is sport. Sometimes, chair umpires make mistakes. Sometimes I get penalized, other times my rivals suffer. That’s life”.

Lesson learned from Australia

“I learned from that game that I lost in the same tiebreak as today. At the beginning of the decisive game, I told myself that I had to enjoy the moment and play my tennis. At least, that way I could leave with a smile on my face at the end of the game, even if I had lost. If you think a lot about winning or losing, you start to get tense and that hurts. I try to be positive and see the good side of things.”.

Ruud, like last year

“Last year was a great game. The second and third sets were very close. I think he played one of his best tournaments of the year. It will be a tough match. In Rome I managed to beat him for the first time. We will see now. First, I have to recover.”.

His current relationship with the Norwegian

“Well, it’s clear that last year there was a bit of drama. I hope there isn’t so much now. We played this year in Rome, it was a good match. He is a great player, I respect him a lot. There is no problem between us, it’s all good. It will be the same scenario as last year. Maybe we’ll play a night session, maybe not. Hopefully I can reverse what happened a year ago and that the result is different.”.

Differences between a normal tiebreak and one in the fifth set

“I don’t think there is much difference. Obviously the super tiebreak is a bit longer, but I think I went in with the same mentality. Try go for it with a lot of energy, because the margin of error is very small. Many times it depends on one or two points. So, I told myself that I had to be aggressive and trust myself. I did it and I managed to win.”.

The goal of being number one

“I think I’m still far from it. To become one, you have to win Grand Slams and I haven’t done it yet. Now, I try to go game by game. I still think I can get it, but at the same time, there’s still a long way to go.”.

The match between Holger Rune and Casper Ruud corresponding to the quarterfinals of Roland Garros will be played on Wednesday, June 7, at 8:15 p.m. in Spain, at 3:15 p.m. in Argentina and at 2:15 p.m. in Chile.