'I Was Ready To Keep Going': Rune Rejects Physical Struggles At ATP Finals

| by Sebastian Dahlman

Holger Rune seemingly struggled physically in the third set against Novak Djokovic at the ATP Finals, but he claims he could have kept going.

An exciting match happened between Novak Djokovic and Holger Rune at the ATP Finals. The Danish player gave Djokovic quite a few problems, especially in the second set. The final set didn't go his way; much of it was due to his apparent physical struggles.

Rune was shortening the points and taking a lot of time between serves, resulting in a time violation. It ultimately allowed Djokovic to break his opponent and cruise to the finish line without much trouble. Despite that, the Danish player claimed that he could have kept going after the match.

I think physically I felt okay. Of course, I feel it. We played three hours. But I'm sure he also felt it a little bit. I was ready, if I had the chance, from 5-3 to 5-4 to keep going, but that didn't happen.

Rune on his physical state
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Djokovic looked fitter than Rune in the match but he didn't play a perfect match. There were certainly moments that looked a bit troublesome but Rune wasted a lot of chances. Ultimately he had chances but he simply didn't use them.

I think I tried to manage my energy as good as possible during the match, not use too many, like, energy, unnecessary energy, and stay calm and play the tennis that I like to play.

Rune on managing his energy levels

He'll have to do much better if he hopes to keep himself in contention for the semi-final. The next opponent is Jannik Sinner, and he's playing on home soil. That won't be easy, especially since a win for Sinner basically ensures that he's in the semi-final, so he'll be quite motivated.

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