The season of Holger Rune continues to be very negative
The season of Holger Rune continues to be very negative. The young Dane seemed to be back in good shape after reaching the semi-final in the Cincinnati Masters 1000, where he had wasted match points against the American Frances Tiafoe. Holger Rune had also been unlucky in that circumstance, but he had shown to be finally back on good levels.
Rune showed up at the 2024 US Open with high expectations, but his run in New York was already broken off in the first round against Brandon Nakashima. The 2022 Paris-Bercy champion played a bad match and was defeated very clearly, without ever giving the impression of being able to react. The Dane has not reached a single quarter-final in the Grand Slam tournaments this year and his rise seems to have stalled. After separating from Patrick Mouratoglou, Holger has not yet found the right automatisms and injuries have slowed him down further.
A year and a half ago, Rune seemed to be a very good alternative to young talents like Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, but the situation has changed radically. The Spaniard ace has already won four Grand Slam titles and five Masters 1000 titles, while the Italian ace has won the 2024 Australian Open and three Masters 1000 titles. The first round loss at the 2024 US Open is very special for Holger Rune, who seems to have no precise strategy on the tennis court and does not have a good attitude in difficult times.
Holger is already out in NY
Holger Rune was eliminated in the first round of the US Open. Really unsatisfactory year in the Slam for the Danish player eliminated in a dry way in New York at the debut by Brandon Nakashima with a score of 6-2 6-1 6-4. Rune explained in press conference how he was not at his best physically and that the problem he has to the right knee has severely limited him to serve.
At the Danish media sport.tv2.dk Rune analysed his situation: “Of course it’s frustrating – he said during the interview – I struggled a lot with the serve. I had problems pushing up with my right knee, and I’ve had it in the last few days in training and back here today. Of course I hoped that everything would go well, but clearly I could not serve as I wanted.”
Rune had trained in recent days with a bandage to the right knee that he then removed during the game: “I thought I was ready to play three consecutive tournaments here in the United States without my body suffering, but today my serve had problems and my knee caused me problems on the backside as well. Brandon played great but today he serves five times better than me. And that’s clearly what makes the difference”.
Many injuries are characterizing the career of Rune: “I have to try to think about what causes me all these injuries. If I’m too weak and need to strengthen my body a little more. Or if I should take a little more break and not play tournaments all the time. I have to talk to the team and find a solution. It’s 100% annoying to go out in the first round. It’s frustrating, because when you’re in there, it’s not like you can snap your fingers and my knee will be fine. I have to try and put it aside and play with what I have, but the problem is that it’s hard to play without a first serve at this level.”
The recent decision to part ways with Patrick Mouratoglou for the second time testifies to the great confusion of Rune at this moment in his career. “I have had some good talks with Patrick, and we mutually decided to part ways. He will always be a great friend, but for now, the best set-up for me is to continue with Kenneth who will be present at all practices and tournaments. Nothing changes in my relation to Mouratoglou academy who always have been very helpful to me. I am looking forward to being healthy and back on court again” – Rune explained.
Mouratoglou stated: “Holger and I have decided to part ways. This decision was reached mutually, as we believe Holger would benefit from a different approach in his set-up right now. Wishing Holger all the best in his future endeavours.” The Danish player is still very young and has plenty of time to return to high levels. Holger needs to solve his physical problems and clear his mind to express his best tennis again.
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