In his young career, Holger Rune has often been painted as a villain among tennis fans because of his attitude on the court.
But the Dane has come out to explain why that is the case. Earlier this year, Rune felt the full wrath of the crowd playing in a near-partisan atmosphere in Monte Carlo against Jannik Sinner, Madrid against home player Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, and more recently against Fabio Fognini in Rome.
It was far from a rosy setting for the 20-year-old who was booed for his on-court actions. Rune believes his reputation is being mistaken by tennis fans simply because he hates to lose, but has always had a friendly and professional relationship with fellow ATP pros.
In an interview with L'Equipe, Rune stated that there is "jealousy in life" and that it can easily be linked to experiencing success and setting a high bar for perfection. The World No. 6 expounded on what his approach is to tennis matches: to be the best version of himself and compete with the best in the sport.
"I really like my reputation. I like my state of mind, I'm a fighter, everyone says it, and it's a good reputation. It's fun. For me, it's still a problem to accept losing. Everyone says you have to be able to accept the defeats. When I lose a match I'm sad and angry, it's normal."
"But I have many friends in the locker room. I've known Carlos Alcaraz well since we were younger, Novak Djokovic is incredibly kind, he helped me a lot. There are a lot of great guys on the circuit. I never had problems. There is a lot of jealousy in life, that's all I can say."
"Tennis is a dream life for me, to be honest. I've been doing this to feel these kinds of emotions since I was 6 years old, to compete with the best and be one of the best."
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