Holger Rune has been backed to “seize” at least one Grand Slam title in his career, despite being “not as strong” as key rivals such as Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz.
Danish star Rune has long been recognised as one of the brightest prospects in men’s tennis, with the 21-year-old winning four titles and reaching a career-high of world No 4 last year.
However, 2024 has been a difficult season for the Dane, who has fallen out of the top 1o of the rankings.
Rune has not won a title since the Bavarian Open in April 2023 and has not reached a final since the Brisbane International back in January, falling to Grigor Dimitrov.
The Dane was beaten in the first round of the US Open for the second straight year and lost in round two of the Australian Open, also failing to match past quarter-final runs at Roland Garros and Wimbledon.
Many have felt Rune has fallen significantly behind peers Sinner and Alcaraz in recent months, with both men now multiple Grand Slam champions.
However, speaking on Eurosport France, former doubles No 1 Nicolas Mahut backed the Dane to take advantage of a wide-open era and win at least one major title.
“Rune won’t be satisfied until he wins a Grand Slam,” said Mahut.
“I think he’s completely consumed by it. I wouldn’t be surprised if one day he manages to win one.
“Obviously he’s not as strong as Sinner and Alcaraz, but there will be more room than during the golden generation with Federer, Nadal, Djokovic, Murray.
“There will be opportunities and I think he’ll be one of those players who can seize one.”
Until this week Rune had amassed a solid, if unspectacular, 33-19 record for 2024, though suffered a disappointing loss to world No 160 Yasutaka Uchiyama at the Hangzhou Open.
However, he has found some good form at the Japan Open this week, progressing to the last eight in Tokyo.
The sixth seed defeated Alejandro Tabilo in a tough three-set battle to start his campaign, before an impressive 6-2, 6-4 victory over home player Yoshihito Nishioka in round two on Saturday.
Rune is one of just two seeds left in the draw, with eighth seed Ben Shelton – the defending champion – a potential semi-final opponent.
However, the world No 14 will first need to fend off wildcard and fellow former world No 4 Kei Nishikori in the quarter-finals.
Nishikori battled past fellow veteran Marin Cilic in his opener, before dropping just five games in a stylish performance against Jordan Thompson to book a meeting against Rune.
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