AUSTRALIAN OPEN

January 17, 2023

Holger Rune

Press Conference

H. RUNE/F. Krajinovic

6-2, 6-3, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: Holger, tell me about your performance today. Strong first-round win.

HOLGER RUNE: Yeah, it was good. The beginning was very strong. I took all the chances I had. I was very aggressive, putting him under a lot of pressure, you know, trying to play as fast as possible and make him, you know, on the run as much as I could and come forward. That's how I like to play, and that really worked very well.

In the third set a little bit of tension there, but I think it's normal. I was very good to refocus pretty fast and very happy I could finish in three sets.

THE MODERATOR: Questions in English.

Q. I have a question about the Netflix series Break Point. I don't know if you had time to see it. It followed quite young players. What do you think that might mean for the interest in tennis in general?

HOLGER RUNE: I think it's very good. I saw just the first episode with Nick, and I thought it's really cool. I think for non-tennis fans watching tennis, I think it's really cool, because you get not just to see the level and the tennis but the life outside of tennis, you know, all the emotions, all the things that tennis players go through. I think it's super cool, and it shows it very well.

Nick is a character, I think it's quite unbelievable. He's showing a lot of emotions, but I think in a good way because it shows how much passion he has for the sport and how much love. He's an incredible player, as well.

Q. If somebody from the production team would ask you to participate, would you accept that?

HOLGER RUNE: Of course. We are already starting to do it. They are filming a little bit. I think the plan is to do some filming for my next match as well.

I'm excited to do it. I think it's going to be great. It's good for tennis. It's good for us players. And I think more fans we can get into the sport, it's better. I'm just very positive about it.

Q. How do you think it will be to have camera crew following you around?

HOLGER RUNE: I think it's okay. I mean, you know, it's not something, like, very new for me. I have been used to, you know, more and more cameras here and there in the last year.

But, of course, it's all the time so you have to get used to it. It's nice. While you are doing it, it's for a purpose, it's to promote the sport and also it's good for your own. So it's a win-win situation, if you can say.

Q. What are you thinking it might mean for your brand or your career to be part of like a big TV series like that?

HOLGER RUNE: Yeah, as I said, as more interest we can get in the sport and in the players, that's better. That's how I see it. It's more interest, more fans, more viewers, it's better. That's what I'm seeing.

Q. For you personally?

HOLGER RUNE: Yeah, I mean, my dream is not to be movie star obviously. It's to be the best tennis player.

It's good. As I said, it's more viewers we can get, the more hype we can get about tennis, it's better.

Q. You have always had a lot of self-belief in your game. I'm curious, does entering a big tournament like this after you did in Paris bring even more confidence, knowing what you can do at such a big event?

HOLGER RUNE: Of course. Paris helped me a lot, but obviously it's a tournament that is best-of-five sets. It's outdoor. It's very hot. Especially today was super hot.

It's different, but obviously Paris gave me a lot of confidence, knowing that I could, you know, beat these top guys at one of the best tournaments we have in the world.

I feel good. I feel like I have a lot of confidence. First I have to think one match at a time. Everybody is playing good. Everybody wants to win, because it is one of the four biggest tournaments in the world.

It's a big event, and it puts pressure on everybody, and it's just to see who is handling it the best.

Q. Obviously you had an offseason to continue try to improve and build your game. What do you think you maybe improved the most during that time?

HOLGER RUNE: Yeah, I think offseason was not very long, because you finish late with the matches and stuff. But, you know, basically I'm still young, so it's very important to keep building physically. We did that. I feel very good. Honestly physically I was not feeling any troubles. You know, I feel like these matches, it's a lot about, you know, it's hard for the focus. You have to keep the focus for a very long time.

As you saw, I dropped a little bit in the third set, got broken there, but then I was quick back at it. I think I handled it well. On the tennis side, I think I played very aggressive. You know, that's what I'm working on with the team. We did a lot in the offseason to keep trying to come to the net and stuff, and I think it suits my game well, and I like to play that way.