It was one fight too many for Holger Rune. Winner of three duels lasting more than three hours in one week, the Dane gave everything against the world number 1 Jannik Sinnerinsufficient to reach its first quarter at Melbourne (6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2). When it comes time to take stock, there are obviously positives to come out of this first Grand Slam of the season, but the regret of having missed out on yet another feat. The gap is clearly visible between a player like Sinnervying to win every Major despite some physical problems, and a Holger Rune physically overwhelmed by the Australian humidity and heat, notably due to a long medical time-out requested by the Italian.
Video – Holger Rune, beaten by Jannik Sinner in the round of 16
Find the men’s draw for the Australian Open here
Find the women’s draw for the Australian Open here
“It wasn’t the worst timing on his part…”
“It was a good match, but at the same time strange” analyzed Holger Rune at a press conference. “I’m disappointed not to go further but happy with the work done with my team. I feel that I’m playing better and better. Playing more than three hours per match is not ideal but what I can keep from this tournament is that I have to try to reach the level that I played in this second set earlier in the tournament to avoid long matches. Jannik was fresher than me so that made things different. .”
What marked this meeting was also the break of more than 20 minutes to replace the net broken by a service of Sinnerbut above all the long medical timeout requested by the Italian. “No problem. The weather was hot and humid, I felt it too. It was longer than expected, and brutal in the middle of the set but I understand and move on. I was definitely off to a good start so It wasn’t the worst timing on his part. I’ll be smarter next time, maybe leaving the court rather than staying under the heat to cook. Is that something that happens every 500? matches, it’s very rare and it There’s nothing to do but wait.”
