‘It Cost Me a Lot’ – Portuguese Player Accuses Holger Rune of Taking Away His French Open Debut

Holger Rune surprised the entire tennis community with his run at the 2022 French Open. In his first-ever French Open, the Dane outplayed some of the best players on the tour to reach the quarterfinals.

Even though the 19-year-old had a phenomenal run in the singles draw, he is being accused of breaking another player’s dream. The person accusing Rune? His doubles partner, Francisco Cabral.

Francisco accuses Holger Rune of taking away his dream

Having had a decent run in the year so far, Franciso would have made his French Open men’s doubles debut in a Grand Slam for the first time. The Portuguese player was set to kick off his Parisian clay campaign with Holger Rune. Excited for his debut, Francisco arrived in Paris 5 days before his first match.

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However, his biggest dream shattered just 15 mins before his debut match when Rune pulled out of the doubles draw. Talking to the media, Francisco expressed his disappointment.

“…waited until 15 minutes before game time to know that I wasn’t going to play after all, it cost me a lot, but I did everything I could,” he said.

(Quotes translated using Google translate)

Last moment withdrawals are not new to tennis. Apart from Franciso and Holger, the French pair of Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Richard Gasquet also announced a last moment withdrawal from the competition. The withdrawal of the French pair came following Tsonga’s right shoulder injury. However, unlike the French pair, the withdrawal of Holger Rune and Francisco Cabral seemed to be a unique case.

Expressing his disappointment further, Francisco said, “It was a little dry, he only told me that he had sprained his foot, that he was at the doctor and that he had told not to play the pairs. I’m sad about his attitude because he didn’t even say this to my face, he just sent me a message on Instagram…”

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While Rune reached the quarterfinals of the 2022 French Open, Cabral will have to wait a little longer for his Grand Slam debut. Even though the incident has disturbed the 25-year-old Portuguese, he is hopeful of better things in the future.