ROLAND GARROS

May 24, 2022

Holger Rune

Press Conference

H. RUNE/D. Shapovalov

6-3, 6-1, 7-6

THE MODERATOR: That was quite an impressive win today.

HOLGER RUNE: Thank you.

THE MODERATOR: How did you deal with it on court?

HOLGER RUNE: Yeah, it was definitely a tough match. Denis can play some unbelievable tennis. For me, it was just trying to focus on what I could do on the court, try to keep holding my serve, try to take every chance I had. I did that pretty good.

Of course I maybe could have closed the third set easier than I did. I had obviously a lot of chances, but I'm just happy that I stayed focused and finished the match in three sets.

THE MODERATOR: Questions?

Q. Your first Grand Slam victory. You are getting much more attention now especially after your Munich win. How do you cope with that, especially at such a big stage?

HOLGER RUNE: Yeah, I think it's nice. This is what you work for every day to be able to play the biggest tournaments. And to play these kind of players like Denis also is great for me. It's amazing level.

You know, I'm super happy and pleased to be, you know, in this position right now. To be able to have chances against these guys, to be able to, you know, win my first title in Munich was a huge step forward in my career.

I'm really positive and working hard every day to get better.

Q. Speaking about Munich, we talked there. No. 1, what happened to the car? Where is it right now? No. 2, do you have your driver's license yet?

HOLGER RUNE: Oh (smiling). I'm going to answer your second question, I don't have a driver's license yet. I didn't have the time to take it. It's tough. Really, my mom, we didn't have the time to get the car yet.

But, you know, when we have some time off, we are definitely going to do the driver's license and take the car.

I mean, Munich for me is an amazing tournament. It's a 250 tournament but it's almost like a 1000 tournament. It's so well organized and I can't wait already to be back there next year.

Q. A little different than playing Novak on Arthur Ashe in the opening match of the US Open last year. Do you think it was helpful to start on a smaller court for you?

HOLGER RUNE: Yeah, I mean, of course it was nicer than to play Novak, for sure. I mean, obviously last year was a huge experience for me, so I wouldn't have replaced that match for any other at that time. But it's nice, you know, not to play the best guys in the first round. I would rather wait a little bit.

I mean, of course, you can't say that Denis is an easy draw. He's the 15th seed, I think. He's such a great player. Especially in the Grand Slam he shows his best tennis.

You know, for me it was a tough draw, and I really just tried, as I said, to focus on each point and to keep focusing on myself and not to do so much else.

Q. We were together one year ago when you played challenger in Lisbon, outside top 200 and played your first challenger final there. How do you rate how you got better in the last 12 months because you are inside the top 50 and things changed a lot in a short period of time for you.

HOLGER RUNE: Yeah, I mean, obviously it's always a progress. Even last year I was in the same progress. I'm improving every day. I'm trying to improve 1% every day to get, you know, always to do things a little better than the day before. I think this has really helped me a lot.

Also, last year in Lisbon, I was obviously far away from playing these kind of tournaments but always I had to believe in myself. I was still young last year, so it was great for me to play these kind of tournaments at that time.

Q. I wanted to ask you about another 19-year-old, Carlos Alcaraz, that's also alive in the draw as well. I saw you used a lot of dropshots today. Since you have faced him before and I'm sure you watch a lot of his tennis, what do you think of the way he's employed the dropshot? Have you been paying attention?

HOLGER RUNE: 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.

Yeah, about the dropshot, it's actually always been a shot that I enjoy a lot. So does he, I think.

You know, I don't know. I just really like playing it, especially on the backhand side. It's very natural for me. 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.