After Holger Rune lost in the third round of last year’s US Open, the Dane took a couple of days off. He had just fallen in straight sets to Cameron Norrie and was outside the Top 30 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings. For a player who has been clear he has ambitions of winning majors and reaching World No. 1, it was simply not enough.
“I just really told myself, ‘Okay, I don’t want to be No. 30 in the world and just stay here,” Rune told ATPTour.com this week in Toronto. “I feel like I can be better and do better things, and I don’t want to waste my potential. So I worked really hard.”
Ever since, Rune has been on the ascent. By the end of the season, he had won two more titles, including his first ATP Masters 1000 in Paris, made another two finals, served as an alternate at the Nitto ATP Finals and cracked the world’s Top 10.
This year, the Dane has made Masters 1000 finals in Monte-Carlo and Rome, earning wins in 2023 against stars like Novak Djokovic, Daniil Medvedev and Casper Ruud.
“I improved a lot, both mentally, physically. I really took everything much more serious I would say and I was really determined to push every single day, every tournament I played,” Rune said. “I feel like after the [2022] US Open swing, I really worked even harder and I got to the level where I wanted to be.”
For those who have followed Rune since early in his career, the Dane has always been clear about his aspirations and his willingness to work hard to achieve his goals. Aged 20, he continues to search for every area in which he can further push himself to the next level.
“I thought I was working hard, but then my results weren’t there, and then I worked 10 times harder. I think it’s always been like that,” Rune said. “When I want something, I’m willing to do whatever it takes. And last year, I was not satisfied with where I was at that moment. And I thought, ‘Okay, there’s one way and it’s to put your foot down and just work’.”
Rune is currently World No. 6, but is searching for an even bigger breakthrough. He lost in the quarter-finals of Roland Garros to Casper Ruud and in the last eight of Wimbledon to Carlos Alcaraz, while also falling in the final of both Masters 1000 finals he reached this year.
“I’m happy to be No. 6, but I’m not satisfied. And I don’t want to end at No. 6. I want to be No. 1, it’s no secret,” Rune said. “Right now I’m also trying to work 10 times harder than I did in the beginning of the year. So hopefully, everything will come together.”
A rivalry is beginning to develop between Rune and Alcaraz, the World No. 1 who just won the Wimbledon title. The Spaniard has achieved what the Dane so strongly desires. They are the only players 20 or younger in the world’s Top 40 and both are firmly entrenched in the Top 10.
Former junior doubles partners, they are beginning to compete against one another for the biggest prizes in tennis. This week at the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers in Toronto, Rune and Alcaraz could meet in the quarter-finals.
Not many players are keen to face Alcaraz given his torrid stretch of form. But no matter the challenge, Rune is eager to compete against and try to beat the best players in the world.
“I do really enjoy it. And I think why rivalries are so important for the sport is because it grows it bigger,” Rune said. “It gets more interest in the sport and if you only have one great player, of course, it’s nice for that one good player. But it’s not as competitive [as] if you have many.
“I think what Roger, Rafa and Novak did and also Borg, McEnroe, they [brought] tennis to another level and another dimension, and hopefully we can do that also.”
For now, the World No. 6 will focus on what is directly in front of him and making a good start to his hard-court swing. The fifth seed begins his Toronto run against Marcos Giron on Wednesday.
“The whole leadup to the US Open is really exciting. And these tournaments can really help you to build your game to be the best at the Open,” Rune said. “[The] better I can do at this tournament, that’s [the] better chance I have to fulfill my dream there.”