"For me, Grand Slams is the biggest thing we have in tennis" - Holger Rune differs from Stefanos Tsitsipas on Grand Slam vs. ATP Finals debate
Holger Rune is amidst his maiden ATP Finals campaign in Turin and notched his first win, thanks to the unfortunate mid-match retirement of Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Rune faced Tsitsipas in his second group stage match on November 14. However, the match ended before it could take substantial shape as the Greek retired at 1-2 in the first set due to an injury. As a result, Rune picked up his first win at the year-end championships.
Earlier, the Dane played his first match against World No. 1 Novak Djokovic, who ended his title defense at the Paris Masters, and took the contest to three sets. The Serb eventually came on top, 7-6 (4), 6-7 (1), 6-3.
After his win against Tsitsipas, Rune was asked to weigh in on the Greek's opinion that winning the ATP Finals is more important than winning a Grand Slam. The 20-year-old differed from Tsitsipas and argued that becoming a Major champion is his utmost priority.
Rune compared the ATP Finals to Formula 1 and appreciates its intensity and top matchups between the best players in the world. However, he still leans towards the Grand Slam over the year-end championships.
"I think the Nitto ATP Finals is the biggest ATP event we have. I think it's super, super exciting event because I compare it a little bit to Formula 1, if you can, because they have these smaller events with less players. It's very intense. It's less matches. Top against top. Obviously you have one day rest every time, so it's nice for the body also," he said in his post-match press conference.
"I think, I mean, if you ask me would I rather win a Grand Slam or win the ATP Finals, my dream has always been to win a Grand Slam, but my dream is also to win here. It's tough to make an order. But for me, for me, Grand Slams is, yeah, the biggest thing we have in tennis," he continued.
So far in his young career, Holger Rune's best performances at Grand Slams have been three quarter-finals. He reached the last 8 stage twice at the French Open (2022 and 2023) and once at the Wimbledon Championships (2023).
Holger Rune to next face Jannik Sinner at the ATP Finals
Holger Rune's final group-stage match at the ATP Finals will be against home favorite Jannik Sinner. The No. 4 seeded Italian began his campaign in Turin with a routine straight sets win, 6-4, 6-4, against Tsitsipas on November 12. Before facing Rune, he will play against Djokovic on November 14.
Rune has faced Sinner twice on the ATP Tour and won both matches. The duo last faced each other in the semi-finals of the 2023 Monte Carlo Masters, where the Dane came back from behind to win 1-6, 7-5, 7-5.
However, their contest at the year-end championships will be played in vastly different conditions (from Monaco's outdoor clay to Turin's indoor hardcourt), and both players have been in opposite forms of late.
Sinner came to the tournament after winning titles at the China Open and Vienna Open. Meanwhile, Holger Rune barely scraped through the qualification cutoff for the Finals after playing in the semi-finals at the Swiss Indoors Basel and quarter-finals at the Paris Masters.
His lone title in 2023 came at the Munich Open. In addition, he also reached the final of the Monte Carlos Masters and the Italian Open.