Holger Rune has personality and desire to get great achievements. Last year the young Dane began his climb, a run-up that led him to occupy, today, the eighth position in the ATP ranking. Rune recently played at Indian Wells where he was ousted in the second round by veteran Stan Wawrinka, and it was in the context of the Californian Masters 1000 that he discussed the present moment but also regarding future aspirations and his way of approach tennis.
He explained: “I work very hard, but I also think it’s very important to really want to improve, to see that the work is paying off and to enjoy it. I love tennis so much that I want to be perfect, even though I know I can’t be, but I think that’s the exciting part, the feeling that you can always improve. There are no limits, and that excites me.”
Holger Rune is just 19 years old, yet the ideas are already perfectly clear in his mind. He added: “Some days I push myself to the limit and I feel great, but there are days where you don’t feel good and you have to do it anyway. There are only a few champions, and champions do. It’s not about how you feel, you have to be disciplined and give one hundred percent regardless of how you feel.”
Rune also said: “I think tennis is exciting and I show it often. Even in a first or second round match, where theoretically you don’t play much, I have the same hunger to win. I think it’s a natural thing. I go out into the field and it’s like going to war. You want to do everything possible to put your opponent in trouble by playing the right way.”
Finally, his personal recipe on how to reach a glorious goal such as winning a Grand Slam: “I have to be very constant and disciplined. I think winning a Grand Slam, honestly, doesn’t depend on your tennis. It’s more a matter of being able to bear the physical and mental burden. Luckily there are rest days between matches which helps a bit, but it’s exhausting.
I reached the quarterfinals at the Roland Garros and that tournament was a world for me. You have to be in your own world and relax when you have time, because you are exhausted. I feel like I have to keep improving my fitness and what I’m doing, because I feel like I’m getting better every day and it’s part of the process.”
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