Holger Rune ‘hopes’ to be part of new ‘trio’ to replace Djokovic, Nadal and Federer
Holger Rune has revealed that he wants to be part of a ‘trio’ of young stars to replace Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.
Rune had a breakout season in 2022, coming from outside the top 100 to inside the top 10, with his biggest career title at the Paris indoor Masters 1000 event.
The highest ranked Danish male player in history beat Djokovic in the final, 3-6 6-3 7-5, and became the first men’s player to beat five top 10 players in the same event.
It is no secret that the 19-year-old has ruffled some of his fellow players up the wrong way on his rise to No.8, including Stan Wawrinka who described Rune as a ‘baby’ after their first round match in Paris.
Rune has recently defended himself when speaking to an Italian newspaper, “I’m not arrogant, I’m just passionate about what I do. I want to win, but I also want to put on a show on the court. I think it’s very good that there’s a variety of characters on the circuit, otherwise it would all be very boring.”
The Dane was also asked about the next generation of players who will replace Djokovic, Nadal and Federer once they have all retired.
“One of the trio I hope to be me, then [Carlos] Alcaraz, who has already shown that he knows how to win Grand Slams, and finally [Jannik] Sinner. He has an incredible attitude. He looks like he’s been on the tour for a lifetime but he’s just 21, and every time he plays he shows improvement,” said Rune.
Holger Rune, Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner head-to-head
The outspoken 19-year-old has an interesting history with both Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, with a win over both of them.
Here is the full head-to-head between the three young stars:
Holger Rune vs Carlos Alcaraz: 1-1
Last meeting (2022) – Rune beat Alcaraz, 6-3 6-6 (retired) (Paris Masters quarter-final)
Holger Rune vs Jannik Sinner: 1-0
Last meeting (2022) – Rune beat Sinner, 5-7 6-4 5-2 (retired) (Sofia Open semi-final)
Carlos Alcaraz vs Jannik Sinner: 3-2
Last meeting (2023) – Alcaraz beat Sinner, 7-6(4) 6-3 (Indian Wells semi-final)
| Career ATP Titles | Current ATP ranking | Career high ATP ranking | |
| Holger Rune | 3 (Including Paris Masters) | No.8 | No.8 |
| Carlos Alcaraz | 8 (Including US Open) | No.1 | No.1 |
| Jannik Sinner | 7 (Including ATP 500 Washington Open) | No.11 | No.9 |
Rune will not be able to add to his three ATP titles this week, after being defeated in the Miami Open fourth round by Taylor Fritz.
However, Alcaraz and Sinner are into the quarter-final in Florida, where they will play Fritz and Emil Ruusuvuori, respectively, before potentially meeting each other in the semi-final.
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