Holger Rune believes his abject performance in the semifinal of the Swiss Indoors can be attributed to "tight legs" because he didn't receive standard treatment from ATP physios.
The young Dane suffered a major setback in his quest to qualify for the ATP Finals after falling in the semifinals in Basel to defending champion Felix Auger-Aliassime.
Rune's serve was broken three times by the Canadian, and overall, won five games in a straight sets defeat. Towards the end of the match, Rune could be seen in a lengthy dialogue with the chair umpire during a changeover.
The 20-year-old was visibly frustrated with his performance, but shifted the blame onto the ATP physios, opining that they are not "good enough to treat players."
Furthermore, Rune asserted that his performance during the match was impacted by it. These were eyebrow-raising claims since the Dane had not requested a physio during the match.
Physio visits are a prerequisite for tennis players in their pre-match routine, so he could have been referring to something that happened before the match.
"My legs are so tight because ATP physiotherapists are not good enough to treat players. That is the reason. Why do you think I’m playing like shit? People have to know that they are not good. There is a physio who takes 10 minutes per player. And yes, I could bring my own physio, which is what I will do. We play at the best level and we have high-level physios."
That defeat means that Rune is now clinging on to stay in the top eight of this year's race as he heads to Paris-Bercy to defend the title he won 12 months ago. He doesn't have a cushy start there, as he awaits the winner of the match between Stan Wawrinka and Dominic Thiem.
0 Comments