The upcoming Japan Open could make or break Holger Rune’s season, following a period of unsettlement for the Dane.
Rune heads to Japan after facing two losses in the Laver Cup as Team Europe were shocked by Team World in San Francisco.
The Dane lost to Francisco Cerundolo in singles action, before suffering the same result alongside Casper Ruud against Alex Michelsen and Alex De Minaur.
The star will be desperate to return to winning ways at the Japan Open, but he could face an incredibly tricky test.
The Japan Open is incredibly important for Holger Rune’s ATP Tour Finals hopes
Rune heads into the Tokyo tournament with a decent chance of reaching the top eight before the ATP Tour Finals in Turin, Italy.
The star is currently ranked World No. 12, but he’s just 415 ranking points from Lorenzo Musetti in the final Turin spot.
However, Musetti has made the Chengdu Open final and will be the favourite to take all 250 ranking points at the tournament against Alejandro Tabilo.
That will put the Italian in the driving seat, forcing more pressure onto Rune ahead of the Japan Open in Tokyo.
Rune plays Hamad Medjedovic in his first round clash, a player he is yet to beat, with the Serbian winning their only meeting in Davis Cup action earlier this year.
Rune reached the semi-final stages of the tournament last year, so an early exit would be devastating for his ranking points.
Holger Rune’s wobbly form since Wimbledon
With the pressure mounting on the Dane to perform, his current form indicates that’s very unlikely to happen.
The star has lost his last three matches, at the Laver Cup and Davis Cup, and his form since his first-round exit at Wimbledon has been inconsistent at best.
Rune reached the round of 16 stages in Cincinnati and Toronto, but won just one match at the US Open before crashing out to Jan-Lennard Struff.
Rune will need a massive upturn in form if he is to even challenge Musetti for that final spot to gain entry into the ATP Tour Finals.
