"They do with all players, but they didn't do it with me" - Holger Rune bemoans lack of 'better' court assignments despite being No. 4 seed at US Open
Fourth seed Holger Rune bowed out of the 2023 US Open on Monday, August 28, losing out in the first round to Roberto Carlos Baena in four sets 6-3, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2.
Playing out on Court 5, the Dane never looked too comfortable on the court. Speaking about being put on an outside court despite being one of the top seeds during his post-match press conference, Rune described the feeling as being 'different'.
The Dane noted that while the same made for a 'nice' atmosphere, he did not expect to play on such a small court. He added that players work really hard to rise up the rankings and expect better treatment than that.
"It's not difficult, but it's different. You're more close to all the people," Holger Rune said. "It's a nice atmosphere. So, I mean, it's no problem with the court. I just didn't expect to play on that court."
"I feel like it's normal," he continued. "I mean, as best as you get in the ranking, it's more, you know, how you say, benefits you should get with playing in better conditions. So I think that's a normal way and it's also how ATP, like, it's how they do with all the players. But they didn't do it with me here."
Rune, however, was quick to clarify that he was not blaming the court for his loss and credited his opponent for playing a very solid match.
"That's obviously disappointing," Holger Rune said. "But not going to blame the court on the loss. He played very, very solid. Credit to him."
"I just did it kind of for fun" - Holger Rune on sharing US Open map ahead of his match
Holger Rune also spoke about his tweet featuring the map of US Open stadium, wherein he had taken a jibe at the organizers by sharing directions to Court 5 ahead of his match.
The Dane said that while he was obviously disappointed about the scheduling, the tweet was mostly just for fun.
"No, I just did it kind of for fun," Holger Rune said. "I mean, of course I was a bit not happy when I saw the schedule, but, I mean, I saw the schedule Friday so I had time to recover from it. It's not like I can't play tennis if I play not on center court."
Rune said he has played more matches on the outside courts than he has on big courts so it does not bother him as much, before saying he has just had a tough few weeks coming into the US Open.
"I played probably more matches on outside courts in my life than big courts, so all good. Yeah, I didn't play good, I think," he continued. "Yeah, it's been tough weeks also before US Open."