Holger Rune was dissatisfied when he was asked about his poor start during his Wimbledon defeat to Novak Djokovic.
Holger Rune responded to a journalist’s “brutal” question following his straight-sets loss against Novak Djokovic. A last-16 match against Rune was thought to be Djokovic’s toughest test since surgery on a torn meniscus last month, but the 24-time Grand Slam winner cruised into the quarter-finals with a 6-3 6-4 6-2 win.
The Dane got off to a slow start and struggled to recover as Djokovic set up a Wimbledon quarter-final with Australian Alex de Minaur. Following the match, Rune was quizzed on how he let his opponent get off to a flyer.
One reporter pointed out: “It looks like the worst thing you can do against Djokovic on Centre Court, especially considering the doubt around Novak, about his knee, to start 13 points, zero for him, giving him the first set for kind of free.”
Yeah, not an ideal start, but that happens sometimes. You don’t have to make it a big deal. You just have to find your rhythm. I think I did after 3-0. I started to serve a little bit better.
“Yeah, I mean, it’s not – how can I say it – it’s not the end of the world the first set I played. It was 6-3. I also lost the first set 6-3 in Paris, Bercy, when I won the final there.
I wasn’t playing good enough today. That was the reason. Not the first set was the reason. Of course, there are nerves. He also had nerves. I guess he just handled it better than me. That’s why he has 24 Grand Slam titles.”
“I focus on the respectful people, they have respect, that pay a ticket to come and watch tonight and love tennis. Love tennis and appreciate the players, appreciate the efforts that the players put in here. I have played in much more hostile environments, trust me. You guys can’t touch me.”
Rune commented on the incident after the match, stating, “Yeah, I mean, if you didn’t know what was going on, it probably sounded like ‘boo’. But we all know what happened: it was my name. Obviously, he’s played a lot of matches since his last battle against me. If he didn’t remember, it might sound different to him. I don’t believe it played a significant role in the contest. “He was simply better than me today.” Whether the crowd was this or that, I believe there was strong support for both players. They backed him up on some good points. They were there to support me. Nice scenes out there on Center Court.”
