"You got nothing to say now?" - Holger Rune and Stan Wawrinka reignite feud at Indian Wells
Holger Rune and Stan Wawrinka were involved in a bit of post-match drama following their thrilling encounter in the third round of the Indian Wells Masters.
Wawrinka produced one of the upsets of the tournament by defeating the seventh-seeded Dane 6-2, 6-7(5), 7-5. The match lasted 2 hours and 40 minutes, with both players producing some brilliant tennis.
However, the most notable moment came during the post-match handshake where Rune could be heard telling Wawrinka:
"You got nothing to say now?"
Wawrinka then told the teenager:
"What do you want me to say?"
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🤐🤐🤐 https://t.co/89Q5n15dac
Rune's words were a reference to the last time he locked horns with Wawrinka, which came in the first round of the 2022 Paris Masters. Back then, the Swiss told Rune to stop 'acting like a baby on the court' after the latter won 4-6, 7-5, 7-6(3).
"My advice to you is that you stop acting like a baby on the court OK?" Wawrinka told Rune in Paris last year.
The last time Stan Wawrinka played Holger Rune things got a bit spicy 🌶👀 https://t.co/nL4e3PYKRd
Stan Wawrinka later reacted to a video of the incident with a series of emojis.
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"I feel good" - Stan Wawrinka after beating Holger Rune
After the match against Holger Rune, Stan Wawrinka stated that he should have wrapped up the win much quicker. He also praised Rune, calling him an amazing player.
"I feel good. The last 45 minutes was tough. I had the match in control, was playing well. I was putting a lot of pressure, I should have won the match way before. I started feeling nervous and hesitated a little bit," he said.
"He came back in the match," he added. "He is an amazing player, a young player. But it is special to keep winning. It was important to stay there mentally because I am playing well."
The Swiss veteran explained that he was trying to 'stay calm' after Rune clawed his way back into the match.
"I was trying to stay calm with myself. I lost to him already in Paris. All my career I know only one way. To keep fighting, working, pushing myself and stay positive. I am super happy with the win," the 37-year-old said.
After beating Rune, Wawrinka faces another tough task at the Indian Wells Masters as he will be up against 11th seed Jannik Sinner in the fourth round. Sinner booked his place in the last 16 with a 7-6(7), 6-4 win over Adrian Mannarino.
Sinner and Wawrinka will play each other for the fifth time, with their head-to-head currently tied at 2-2. The winner will face either reigning champion Taylor Fritz or Marton Fucsovics in the quarterfinals.