‘He Needs Mayhem’- 20-Year-Old Holger Rune Gets Nick Kyrgios-Inspired Advice After He Failed to Make It Big at French Open 2023

Young ATP star Holger Rune failed to make it count on the big stage yet again as he fell short in the quarterfinals of the ongoing French Open. Possessing an all-court game, the 20-year-old Danish international is known for his big serve, strong baseline shots, and great net play. He has been described as a hugely talented prospect and is touted to be the future of men’s tennis by coaches and peers alike. However, something seems to be going wrong for Rune when it comes to the big matches of grand slams.

After his exit from the Roland Garros quarterfinals, former player and 7-time grand slam winner Mats Wilander has weighed in on what he feels was missing from the game of Holger Rune during the match.

Mat Wilander’s analysis of Holger Rune crashing out of the Roland Garros quarterfinals

Rune was defeated by his fellow Scandinavian rival Casper Ruud 1-6, 2-6, 6-3, 3-6, in their quarterfinal counter of this year’s French Open. The Dane seemed to be lacking his usual intensity during the match. While analyzing his lackluster performance in an exclusive to Eurosport, Mats Wilander mentioned that Rune looked to have succumbed to the pressure of the occasion.

According to him, some Nick Kyrgios-esque intensity was missing from Rune’s game. “I think he needs mayhem, he needs a little bit of that Nick Kyrgios, and he didn’t have that… He was flat and I think it’s a learning lesson for him, but again I don’t know if he has the energy to be because he’s so fired up in a way – but not with his tennis racquet in his hand,” he said.

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Rune’s level of performance and gameplay couldn’t impress Wilander. He said that Rune needed to get himself more fired up and step up to the occasion. Surely, some raw intensity and unpredictable ferocity similar to that of Australian Nick Kyrgios could have helped the Dane salvage something out of his match against Casper Ruud.

Casper Ruud ending Rune’s run is a repeat of last year’s French Open QFs

Norwegian Casper Ruud was the one to spoil Holger Rune’s party in the quarterfinals of Roland Garros, much like this year. Ruud defeated Rune in 4 sets – 6-1, 4-6, 7-6(2), 6-3, in quite a similar fashion to their encounter this time around. However, things were a bit more tense and heated during their face-off last year. A spat ensued between the Scandinavian rivals after their match when Rune claimed that his opponent had disrespected him during the match. He accused Ruud of shouting in his face after he emerged victorious. A war of words followed when Ruud denied all allegations against him and called Rune a liar.

Unlike last year, the ‘mayhem’ was missing not only in the context of their off-court shenanigans but also from Holger Rune’s racquet. Only time will tell whether Rune will be able to learn from these defeats and finally up the ante in high-profile matches.

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