Novak Djokovic brings the best out of Holger Rune. Will that be enough for the Dane to upset the seven-time Wimbledon champion on Monday in their fourth-round clash at The All England Club?
Rune has won two of the pair’s five Lexus ATP Head2Head meetings, and those two have been among the biggest victories of his young career.
“I'm expecting a tough battle. I think that's always how it's going to be when you play Novak,” Rune said. “He's one of the toughest competitors of all time and one of the most successful players, so I'm expecting nothing but a great level from him.”
Djokovic is set to compete in the second week at Wimbledon for the 16th time. This is just Rune’s 12th Grand Slam tournament.
But a disparity in experience has never scared Rune. The 21-year-old has already earned 15 wins against opponents inside the Top 10 of the PIF ATP Rankings. He owns the seventh-best winning percentage against the Top 10 (45.5%) among active players, trailing only Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Carlos Alcaraz, Andy Murray, Daniil Medvedev and Jannik Sinner.
“When it comes to playing on the court and competing, obviously we both have that fire,” Djokovic said. “I'm sure that on Monday we'll see a lot of fireworks on the court. He's a spectacular player, no doubt. He loves the big stage, loves playing on grass. I think he's a very, very tricky opponent. It's going to take my best tennis to win.”
Last August, Rune ascended to a career-high World No. 4. Now No. 16 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings, he has fallen slightly out of the spotlight since. But ranking is not something that detracts from the 2023 Nitto ATP Finals competitor’s confidence.
“I still have the same belief and there is still hope for the tournament as I would have if I was higher seeded,” Rune told ATPTour.com earlier this fortnight. “I have extremely high ambitions for myself and I will try to live up to them.”
The four-time ATP Tour titlist and 2023 Wimbledon quarter-finalist has also historically brought his best on the biggest stages. His win against Djokovic last year in Rome was covered in Netflix's Break Point. Holger's mother, Aneke Rune, spoke to ATPTour.com earlier this year about it.
“In general I love to see the fire in his eyes," Aneke said. "These matches against the legends, he knows that he cannot do anything wrong."
Djokovic is not expecting anything less than a big test from the player who was two months old when the Serbian earned his first PIF ATP Ranking.
“He looks to me as a player that is ready for big things. It takes a little bit of time maybe for him mentally, as well, to mature and to gain experience and to understand how he needs to play in certain moments and so forth on a big stage,” Djokovic said. “But he's got quite a bit of experience already for a 21-year-old… So he's been working. He's been working very hard. I think his serve is a big weapon now. Maybe it wasn't so much in the past.
“Serve and forehand. Of course [his] backhand is as solid as anybody's. Return, as well. Close to the line. Really trying to take away the time from his opponent.”
Rune is performing better in all key serve metrics this year according to Infosys ATP Stats. His first-serve points won, second-serve points won, break points saved percentage and service games won are all up over his career marks.
“I think he has always had very good working ethics. He's been a very dedicated guy,” Djokovic said. “Once he sees something is off, he's going to go out on the practice court and he's going to work on it. That's what I’ve always loved about him.”
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There were questions entering The Championships regarding Djokovic’s participation in the grass-court major given he underwent surgery to repair a torn right meniscus following Roland Garros. But while the 24-time major winner has been extended to four sets in his past two matches, that has been down to his opponents playing brave, aggressive tennis.
“I saw him playing a little bit. He seems like he's playing very well, feeling confident,” Rune said. “Definitely have to play on my best level to have a chance to win, so that's what I'm going to try to do.”
Djokovic and Rune at the 2023 Nitto ATP Finals. Photo Credit: Corinne Dubreuil/ATP Tour.
Djokovic has known Rune since early on in the Dane's career. They have both spoken glowingly about one another.
“I always try to be available to him for any practice or advice or guidance or anything like that,” Djokovic said. “I remember him since he was quite young. He appeared I think in south of France, Monaco, where I was based, [had] been training… We trained [on] a lot on different surfaces, spent some time.”
But however friendly they might be, friendship will not mean much when they are standing across the net from one another with millions of fans watching around the world. The only thing that will matter is which man wins three out of five sets.
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Rune has won two of the pair’s five Lexus ATP Head2Head meetings, and those two have been among the biggest victories of his young career.
“I'm expecting a tough battle. I think that's always how it's going to be when you play Novak,” Rune said. “He's one of the toughest competitors of all time and one of the most successful players, so I'm expecting nothing but a great level from him.”
Djokovic is set to compete in the second week at Wimbledon for the 16th time. This is just Rune’s 12th Grand Slam tournament.
But a disparity in experience has never scared Rune. The 21-year-old has already earned 15 wins against opponents inside the Top 10 of the PIF ATP Rankings. He owns the seventh-best winning percentage against the Top 10 (45.5%) among active players, trailing only Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Carlos Alcaraz, Andy Murray, Daniil Medvedev and Jannik Sinner.
“When it comes to playing on the court and competing, obviously we both have that fire,” Djokovic said. “I'm sure that on Monday we'll see a lot of fireworks on the court. He's a spectacular player, no doubt. He loves the big stage, loves playing on grass. I think he's a very, very tricky opponent. It's going to take my best tennis to win.”
Last August, Rune ascended to a career-high World No. 4. Now No. 16 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings, he has fallen slightly out of the spotlight since. But ranking is not something that detracts from the 2023 Nitto ATP Finals competitor’s confidence.
“I still have the same belief and there is still hope for the tournament as I would have if I was higher seeded,” Rune told ATPTour.com earlier this fortnight. “I have extremely high ambitions for myself and I will try to live up to them.”
The four-time ATP Tour titlist and 2023 Wimbledon quarter-finalist has also historically brought his best on the biggest stages. His win against Djokovic last year in Rome was covered in Netflix's Break Point. Holger's mother, Aneke Rune, spoke to ATPTour.com earlier this year about it.
“In general I love to see the fire in his eyes," Aneke said. "These matches against the legends, he knows that he cannot do anything wrong."
Djokovic is not expecting anything less than a big test from the player who was two months old when the Serbian earned his first PIF ATP Ranking.
“He looks to me as a player that is ready for big things. It takes a little bit of time maybe for him mentally, as well, to mature and to gain experience and to understand how he needs to play in certain moments and so forth on a big stage,” Djokovic said. “But he's got quite a bit of experience already for a 21-year-old… So he's been working. He's been working very hard. I think his serve is a big weapon now. Maybe it wasn't so much in the past.
“Serve and forehand. Of course [his] backhand is as solid as anybody's. Return, as well. Close to the line. Really trying to take away the time from his opponent.”
Rune is performing better in all key serve metrics this year according to Infosys ATP Stats. His first-serve points won, second-serve points won, break points saved percentage and service games won are all up over his career marks.
“I think he has always had very good working ethics. He's been a very dedicated guy,” Djokovic said. “Once he sees something is off, he's going to go out on the practice court and he's going to work on it. That's what I’ve always loved about him.”
[ATP APP]
There were questions entering The Championships regarding Djokovic’s participation in the grass-court major given he underwent surgery to repair a torn right meniscus following Roland Garros. But while the 24-time major winner has been extended to four sets in his past two matches, that has been down to his opponents playing brave, aggressive tennis.
“I saw him playing a little bit. He seems like he's playing very well, feeling confident,” Rune said. “Definitely have to play on my best level to have a chance to win, so that's what I'm going to try to do.”
Djokovic and Rune at the 2023 Nitto ATP Finals. Photo Credit: Corinne Dubreuil/ATP Tour.
Djokovic has known Rune since early on in the Dane's career. They have both spoken glowingly about one another.
“I always try to be available to him for any practice or advice or guidance or anything like that,” Djokovic said. “I remember him since he was quite young. He appeared I think in south of France, Monaco, where I was based, [had] been training… We trained [on] a lot on different surfaces, spent some time.”
But however friendly they might be, friendship will not mean much when they are standing across the net from one another with millions of fans watching around the world. The only thing that will matter is which man wins three out of five sets.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]