'Playing Around 20% Of What I Can': Rune After Disappointing China Open Exit

| by Sebastian Dahlman

Holger Rune returned to tennis at the 2023 China Open, winning one match before losing to Grigor Dimitrov in two sets.

The Dane had a really tough time on the ATP Tour in recent weeks, dealing with back issues that prevented him from playing the way he wanted to. He racked up seven consecutive defeats before finally snapping the losing streak against Felix Auger-Aliassime in Beijing.

The next match saw him take on Grigor Dimitrov, the only man he beat in close to two months, but this time around, the Bulgarian had the upper hand, winning the match comfortably. It was a disappointing loss for Rune, who had high hopes for this event, but ultimately, he's not close to his best tennis.

Speaking after the match, Rune estimated that he played at about 20 % of his capabilities admitting that not having a lot of matches lately hurts him.

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Yeah, started not very well today, unfortunately. Managed to start playing some decent tennis from Love-4 in the first set. Then, yeah, I never really found my level. Probably playing around 20% of what I can. But, yeah, that's how it is sometimes. I haven't played many matches in the past also. Trying to get the rhythm back. And, yeah, congrats to Grigor.

That shouldn't be a problem moving forward, as the Shanghai Masters will give him another opportunity to do well. If he doesn't, he'll have the European indoor season, a part of the calendar he dominated last year.

He has a lot of points to defend, so he'll need to find his best unless he wants to face a really tough draw at the Australian Open. He'd also like to book a spot in Turin, but there is a lot more to be done if he wants to find himself there in two months.

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