ROLAND GARROS
Like Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, Holger Rune is Hoping to Defy the Odds (in Paris)
Rune has never progressed beyond the quarterfinals at Roland Garros. This year, he hopes for better fortune.
There is something undeniably stimulating about Paris.
Whether megastar Taylor Swift is headlining the highest-grossing tour in history or Ferrari's Formula 1 driver Charles Leclerc is running around with his friends at the Monaco Grand Prix, Paris is the place to be this time of the year.
And Danish tennis sensation Holger Rune would know as it is now almost two years since he, much like the Taylor Swift fever, took over Paris by storm at Roland Garros, marking one of the biggest moments of his career at arguably his favorite Grand Slam event of the year.
Barely anyone left Court Philippe-Chatrier that afternoon, as the deafening decibels of thousands of fans, some hypnotically waving Denmark's flag, chanted his name in impassioned unison.
Rune, a 19-year-old teenager making his debut at Roland Garros, defied the odds and tennis gods to not only upset the ATP's World No. 4 Stefanos Tsitsipas, but also burst onto the scene as the epitome of tenacity.
Every tennis player destined for greatness can boast of that one defining moment in their career: When the wheel of time stops and everything suddenly seems possible, even the greatest of fantasies.
Two years on, Rune who won his first ATP Masters title here in Paris, still relishes that “completely surreal” feeling of beating Tsitsipas against all the odds and talks about his “really good memories” at the French Open.
The challenge, perhaps, for Rune is that these surreal moments have been far and in between these last two years. His blistering career has been mired by inconsistent performances and results, injuries and illness, and a festering malaise of inert complacency.
Complacency in tennis can be a dangerous game and is a sensitive subject to be approached with trepidation rather than temerity, especially when discussing young players' careers.
Yet in lieu of his latest struggles and poor run of form, Rune, speaking to Danish media ahead of this year's Roland Garros, confirmed to TV 2 Sport that he “completely lost his focus” in the second set to Sebastian Baez, sparking an internal investigation into his eating habits and mental readiness before stepping on the court.
“I actually start with a solid first set, where I make the right decisions and get to the net at the right times. I do pretty much everything right,” Rune explained when asked where things went wrong against Baez in Rome.
“But I completely lose focus in the second set, and also part of the third set, where I don't really find my level. It was a lack of focus that decided the match.”
The Danish unicorn also bemoaned the constant delay to the start of his match against Baez which disrupted his eating habits, training routines, and mental readiness when the game eventually began.
But everyone with a vested interest in this sport knows of the structural mess incapacitating tennis, its physically and mentally grueling schedule, and boorish ways of treating tennis stars like disposable private contractors rather than as players with feelings and mental health concerns.
Now 21, Rune understands this parlance of play and insists the ATP's shortcomings will not serve as an “excuse in the future” should he demonstrate further symptoms of sycophancy.
Rune also gave the impression that he was hoping to defy the odds once again in Paris and even progress beyond the quarterfinals of the French Open for the first time in his career.
“I remember back to when I went to the quarterfinals the first year, when I beat Tsitsipas it felt completely surreal. But again, I would like to go even further this year, so that is the hope.”
It is not the first time he has hoped for better fortune at Roland Garros, having previously found Paris a happy hunting ground in 2022 but was eliminated in the quarterfinals again last year.
Throughout his career, Rune has yet to progress from the quarterfinal of any major tournament, the Grand Slams, but he is banking on bucking that trend in 2024.
Like Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, who hosted him at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix during the off-season, Rune hopes the infectious booze and passionate support from the City of Lights will get him over the line.
And in Leclerc’s case, his fortunes this week couldn’t be better, as he defied the odds to become the first home winner of the Monaco Grand Prix since 1931.
When asked about his relationship with the fans and connections to the city, Rune spoke in glowing terms of his love for Paris and the French crowd, dubbing its flagship tournament Roland Garros his favorite time of the year.
“The French Open is clearly my favorite time of the year here on the tour. So I'm super, super looking forward to it.”
On his relationship with the fans and if he felt their love, Rune responded: “100 percent. The audience has always been really, really cool and clearly on my side.”
Undeniably, Rune has a special relationship with the crowd at Roland Garros — he relishes their nerves and passion and his mom Aneke has previously admitted he “feels” their love for him.
They are not exactly Romeo and Juliet but that mutual sentiment appears to be set in stone. However, like Shakespeare's lovebirds, this little rom-com will not be without its test this week.
At this year's Roland Garros, one thing is crystal clear: Rune is not the favorite for this tournament.
No, that would be Carlos Alcaraz who has been recovering well from a forearm injury. He is the bookmaker's favorite at leading betting platform Bet365, placed at 3.75 odds to lift his third-career Grand Slam and first-ever Roland Garros title.
Novak Djokovic, also recuperating quite well after undergoing concussion tests following a water bottle incident is the second-favorite at 4.50 odds. Jannik Sinner completes the Top Three at 5.50 odds.
Rune ranks 10th (29 odds) on Bet365's list of favorites at Roland Garros which is a confidence boost considering his actual ranking on the ATP Tour is 13th.
And of course, there is the small matter of Rafael Nadal, crowd favorite and 14-times record champion at the French Open.
Rune may feel he has the crowd on his side but as demonstrated during his practice sets with Nadal where over 10,000 fans turned out on a new-look Court Suzanne Lenglen, this year's Roland Garros and its legacy, is all about one man — Rafael Nadal, the People's Champion.
In isolation, the allure of Nadal's tasty opening draw against the lanky six-feet-six German Alexander Zverev should not detract from the moral awkwardness that the German is under criminal investigation for alleged sexual assault.
Right now, these are the odds Rune seeks to defy, the tennis gods he hopes to upset without suffering an upset of his own.
On Tuesday, he will face British old guard Dan Evans and on this occasion, there is no doubt the odds will be stacked in his favor.
But as greater challenges emerge and the path to success is replete with uncertainties, Rune will hope, that like Leclerc, this infectious home support will cheer him over the line.
And help him defy the odds.
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