Holger Rune doesn't care if he plays the villain, says tennis journalist
Tennis player-turned-commentator Jason Goodall lauded Holger Rune's confidence and self-belief on the latest episode of the "Holding Court with Patrick McEnroe" podcast.
Rune recently suffered a third-round exit from the Madrid Open at the hands of Alejandro Davidovich Fokina. He will be back in action in the second round of the ongoing ATP Masters 1000 Italian Open in Rome.
Podcast host Patrick McEnroe stated that he expected Holger Rune to make a deep run at the upcoming French Open. He also mentioned the Dane's propensity to rub his opponents the wrong way.
"I’m looking for Rune myself because I think he’s physically, I mean to me he’s a phenomenal athlete," McEnroe said.
"I know he’s rubbing some people the wrong way including a lot of the other players but I think he’ll learn and I think he’s got some moxie. He’s got some attitude but more than anything else I think he’s got game."
Jason Goodall chimed in to say that the most important aspect of Rune's attitude was his unwavering self-belief and indifference towards being cast as the villain. He highlighted the World No. 7's ability to remain unfazed and perform even better when playing in less than ideal conditions.
"The most important aspect of all of that is that he believes in himself and that he doesn’t care if he plays the villain in any scenario," Goodall said.
"Say the scenario in Madrid when he was playing Davidovich Fokina. He was playing late, up against the local favorite. Every one was booing him in Monte-Carlo. He didn’t care, he played better when that was the case."
Goodall added that some of his colleagues felt that Holger Rune needs to change and mature. However, he was of the view that as long as Rune continues to consistently perform at his best regardless of the circumstances, there will be no issue.
"I’ve had this conversation with a couple of other colleagues and they’re like ‘He’ll learn,’ and ‘He needs to change,’ and this and that and I said perhaps he will when he matures a little bit but if he doesn’t, the most important thing is he doesn’t care," Goodall explained.
"And if he doesn’t mind what anyone thinks about him then it doesn’t matter. As long as he can play his best tennis in those circumstances which appears to be the case then there is no problem," he added.
I love watching Holger Rune play, he's a great showman: Tennis journalist Jason Goodall
Jason Goodall highlighted the improvements Holger Rune had made to his playing style in order to develop a more aggressive and all-court game.
"He’s improved a lot. His forehand has improved. The big serving now, the speed that he’s got. The second serve which he never used to have. The ability to play with the drop shots like [Carlos] Alcaraz does. Come in to net and play aggressive all court tennis," Goodall said.
"I love watching him play. He’s a great showman."
Rune received a bye in the first round of the Rome Masters. He will take on the winner of the match between Arthur Fils and Juan Manuel Cerundolo to get his campaign underway.