Holger Rune confident of repeating Paris Masters heroics against 'greatest of all time' Novak Djokovic at Italian Open

Holger Rune took down Australia's Alexei Popyrin in the fourth round of the Italian Open in a hard-fought battle on May 16. In the post-match interview, the Dane heaped praise on his quarterfinal opponent, Novak Djokovic.

The 20-year-old will face the World No. 1 on May 17, who overcame Cameron Norrie earlier in the day, to reach the last eight. While Popyrin gave Rune a really hard time in the clay court competition, Djokovic managed to win comfortably against the Brit.

"He's one of the greatest of all time" 🐐

@holgerrune2003 on facing Novak and his win against him in Paris last year!

#IBI23 https://t.co/yQWMrub2m1

After the match, Rune was asked about facing the 22-time Grand Slam champion, who's in menacing form currently. The Dane mentioned that he's confident that he can pull off a major upset because he has defeated a number of top guys lately.

"In general, the belief you know. I believe that I can, you know, beat many players on the tour, I've shown that I could beat many guys at the top," Rune said.

The Dane also addressed last year's win over the Serb and stated that it helped him a lot. He concluded by saying that Djokovic is 'one of the greatest of all time' and stated that he is looking forward to tomorrow's quarter-final fixture.

"And you know, winning against Novak helped me a lot because obviously he's one of the greatest of all time and it's going to be tough but I'm looking forward to tomorrow," Rune concluded.

The two have squared off twice in the past. The first fixture, which took place at the 2021 US Open, was won by the Serb. Holger Rune then emerged victorious against Novak Djokovic at the Paris Masters last year.

Holger Rune flounced into the quarterfinal after beating Alexei Popyrin

After upsetting home favorite Fabio Fognini in an eventful fixture, Holger Rune progressed to the fourth round of the Italian Open, where he faced Alexei Popyrin. Rune took an early lead in the first set to go 3-1 ahead. With the momentum on his side, he sealed the first set 6-4.

FORZA! 🔥 Holger Rune continues his stellar clay court season

Battles past Alexei Popyrin 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 after 3 hours to set up Rome QF blockbuster vs Novak Djokovic! #IBI23

Rune's 25th victory in 2023 ✅🚀 https://t.co/Z6mabrUUyk

The second set was nip and tuck, as both youngsters gave their best on the court. Resisting all the stress after losing the first set, the unseeded Australian stunned the Dane and stole the set just before it went to a tie-break.

In the third set, the 20-year-old appeared to have some issues with his eyes and a medical trainer was called in. Nevertheless, Holger Rune picked up from where he left off, securing a 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 victory against his Australian rival.