Holger Rune narrowly missed out on the ATP Finals even though he was there but only as an alternate.
The goal this year is to change that and be there among the best players in the world. He doesn't lack confidence and the way he finished last year and opened this year, it's not far-fetched for him to actually get the spot. He opened up about his goals on the ATP Tennis Radio Podcast.
I really hoped to play in Turin, but it wasn't possible. And it was okay. I mean, it was great to be there, but honestly, I was just super pumped after Paris. It gave me even more motivation and stuff, and I played a couple of exhibition tournaments in the pre-season and won both of them actually. So I was on a good roll. So it was, I guess it was good to, to have some time off.
The goal this year is rather simple. He wants to win as much as he can but only enough to find himself in Turin but not as an alternate. He wants to rightfully be there as one of the best eight tennis players in the world.
This year my goal is definitely to qualify for Turin and not only be alternative, but it was a nice experience. I feel I’m doing a few things better than in 2022 which is nice, I’ve improved a lot of things, so it’s a positive sign, but I’m only nineteen and have a lot of things to learn.
Besides getting that done, Rune wants to win a grand slam. To do that he might need to rise above the likes of Djokovic or Nadal. He's beaten Djokovic before but in a bo3 format which is quite different from a best of 5.
It's definitely tough to stop him [Djokovic] without a doubt. I was the last man to do it. So of course I'll say I have a chance to do it. But also we, we saw Alcaraz did it last year. He's been out with the injury, but he's, he's such a strong player, so it's it's gonna be interesting for sure.
When it comes to Nadal, Rune never played him but he hopes to. Playing him on clay would be iconic considering Rune's own clay skill.
And Rafa is obviously the king of clay, so that's also gonna be interesting to see how he's gonna come back at the clay season. And if he's healthy, which we all hope he is, he's very dangerous.
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