Daniil Medvedev had words of encouragement for Denmark's Next-Gen star Holger Rune, who expressed his disappointment in being allocated an outside show court in his opening match.
Rune was part of many top seeds who came crashing down in the first round of the 2023 US Open, as he fell to a shock four-set defeat to Spain's clay-court specialist Roberto Carballes Baena. Before the match, Rune criticized ATP officials for their disdainful behavior in scheduling his match on Court 5.
The Danish star later spoke to the press after the defeat adding that he should have been given the privilege of gracing his presence on a bigger court. Rune shared an impassioned rant pre-match to Danish sports broadcaster TV Sport feeling that the organizers were making a mockery of his high seeding status.
Rune, however, clarified that his performance was unaffected by those events and felt he lost to a better player. Russia's Daniil Medvedev weighed in on the issue and was sympathetic towards the 20-year-od. Medvedev reckons Rune should have at least waited to make such sentiments after the match as it's easier to digest the disappointment of losing.
"It's, I mean, I can understand his frustration. I can understand why the tournament put him there. The thing is that you always want to, even if it happens to you, you always probably want to talk about it after the match, because especially if you win, because then it's a little bit easier to kind of push your way through, let's say."
The third seed had words of wisdom for his fellow pro advising him to continue climbing the ATP ladder. Medvedev is impressed by what the Dane is doing right now and he is confident he will play on bigger stages on a regular basis if he keeps up his level.
"But, you know, if he continues the way he's playing right now, soon he's going to only play on big courts. So, yeah, Holger, again, if Holger stays where he is, plays as good as he does, he's going to play more on the bigger courts."
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