Holger Rune deflects blame on double bounce: "Some umpires make mistakes, that's life"
Holger Rune stated that he takes no blame for the double bounce controversy in his match against Francisco Cerundolo at the 2023 French Open.
Sixth seed Rune and Cerundolo faced off on Court Suzanne-Lenglen in the fourth-round on Monday, June 5. In the fourth game of the third set of the encounter, Cerundolo hit a forehand into the open court with his opponent well out of position. Rune only got to the ball after it had bounced twice, prompting Cerundolo to stop playing the rally. Chair umpire Kader Nouni, who did not spot the ball bouncing twice, penalized Cerundolo for stopping play mid-rally. This saw him lose the point while on the serve.
At a post-match match press conference, Rune was asked about the double bounce incident. The Danish youngster stated that he did not know the ball had bounced twice until he saw the replays.
"When I was hitting the ball, I didn't know, I just ran for it. But then obviously when I saw it, after he did call it, I saw it after the next point on the TV, and I saw it was a double bounce. But the point already happened and he called the score. So I felt sorry. Sorry for him. Yeah, I mean, then I managed to break him. I hold serve. Then after he broke me it was close again," he said.
Rune blamed the chair umpire for the error, but stated that it was human to make mistakes now and then.
"You know, this is tennis. This is sports. You know, some umpires, they make mistakes. Some for me; some for him. That's life," he opined.
"You cannot do that mistake" - Francisco Cerundolo on double bounce incident against Holger Rune
The double bounce incident was a big turning point in the match as Holger Rune immediately won the next point to break Francisco Cerundolo and then went on to clinch the third set, re-taking the advantage in the match.
Cerundolo was understandably unhappy with chair umpire Kader Nouni and told him during the match that he would get him fined. After the match, the Argentine called the double bounce incident a "huge mistake" and wished that Rune displayed sportsmanship by giving him the point.
"It was a huge mistake. It was unbelievable with the double bounce. The umpire has to check it again. It is tough to give the point away. It was tough moment. He [Holger Rune] was not good not to give me to point but I understand it with the tension," he said.
Cerundolo added that such mistakes were unacceptable at this level of the sport.
"They have to do something with the cameras because you cannot do that mistake. For sure I wish he (Rune) would have given it... if he saw it is bad for him. If he didn't see it and it was after, I understand," he added.
Holger Rune eventually won the contest 7-6(3), 3-6, 6-4, 1-6, 7-6(7) to progress to the French Open quarterfinals, where he will face fellow Scandinavian Casper Ruud.