I've always enjoyed hitting a lot of drop shots and and so does Carlos Alcaraz; It's very natural for me: Holger Rune
Teenage sensation Carlos Alcaraz has been the talk of the town for the past couple of months and is one of the favorites to win Roland Garros this year.
Another 19-year-old, Holger Rune, has also shot into the limelight with his recent performances. The Danish No. 1 defeated 14th seed Denis Shapovalov in straight sets in the first round on Tuesday.
With two young talents producing such strong results, comparisons are bound to occur. On that note, Rune highlighted one particular aspect of his, as well as Alcaraz's game, that usually brings them success - the drop shot.
"Yeah, about the dropshot, it's actually always been a shot that I enjoy a lot. So does he, I think," Rune said.
19yo Holger Rune continues his fantastic clay season, beating Denis Shapovalov 6-3, 6-1, 7-6(4) to reach the 2nd round at #RolandGarros. He won the juniors here in 2019 but this is his first pro-year playing the event. https://t.co/5S2D5rRixS
Rune went on to explain why he likes to play the drop shot. On clay, many rallies are played from far behind the baseline, and players usually employ the shot to throw opponents off guard. It is a difficult shot to use well consistently, but Rune backs himself to play it often.
"You know, I don't know. I just really like playing it, especially on the backhand side. It's very natural for me," the Dane continued.
"And I think it's good, especially here on clay when opponents are far behind the baseline to mix it up and not just hit full power like a lot of player does. To have the feeling to do this thing is great. It's also more fun to watch. I enjoy playing those shots," he added.
We know each other very well: Holger Rune on Carlos Alcaraz
The two 19-year-olds have faced each other just once on the ATP tour in the Round Robin stage of the 2021 Next Gen ATP finals. The unique format of the Next Gen finals saw the Spaniard register a rather comfortable 4-3, 4-2, 4-0 victory.
However, Rune highlighted that he has faced Alcaraz many times on the junior circuit, where they were great rivals belonging to the same age group.
"Yeah, me and Alcaraz, we have played a lot of times, I think around 10 times, actually, coming from juniors. We know each other very good," Rune expressed.
Alcaraz up and running 🙌
No. 1 seed @alcarazcarlos03 defeats Rune 4-3 4-2 4-0 in his opening match at the #NextGenATPFinals! https://t.co/cGRfvrlf2Z
Rune started the 2022 season outside the top-100, but has already made it to the Top-40 on the back of a title in Munich, a title at the Sanremo Challenger and a semifinal run in Lyon last week.
Alcaraz, on the other hand, has taken his game to a very high level altogether. His rapid rise this year has seen him win two ATP Masters 1000 tiles and two ATP 500 titles, and he is currently ranked sixth in the world.