THE CHAMPIONSHIPS

July 10, 2023

Holger Rune

Press Conference

H. RUNE/G. Dimitrov

3-6, 7-6, 7-6, 6-3

THE MODERATOR: Welcome to the press conference of Holger Rune.

Holger, first time in the quarterfinals at Wimbledon. How does it feel?

HOLGER RUNE: It feels great. It was a great match today. I was pushed to the limit. I think Grigor is an excellent player, so I had to find my best tennis and really fight.

Super happy to be in the quarters. It feels amazing.

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. I wanted to know, did you hear the record that Carlos Alcaraz and you are the first time two players under 21?

HOLGER RUNE: Yeah, I heard.

Q. Can you explain a little bit more what it represents.

HOLGER RUNE: It's great. It's a good feeling. It shows that the young players are doing a great job. For me it's cool. For him it's also cool, I guess.

To be able to play quarterfinal against a player that is your same age, at the top of the ranking, feels amazing. I'm really looking forward to that match. I even looked at it when I was in the first round.

I couldn't really afford to look at it because there were so many matches before this would eventually happen. Now we're here so I'm really pumped and excited for it.

Q. You and Carlos go way back. What do you recall the most when you and him were young, and how different is he now from when he was 12?

HOLGER RUNE: He's always been a very, like, passionate player on the court, I would say, with a lot of energy. A big forehand also in juniors.

I think he's the same, just so much better now. I think back then he was Carlos, now he's Carlos. He's the same, just improved very, very a lot and very quickly.

I said it before: it's great to see so many young players starting to do really good on the tour.

Yeah, we play doubles one time in Petits As. Hopefully we can do it again, but now we're going to battle against each other.

Q. Your mother was going very wild. Could you talk about your relationship with your mother and how supportive she is.

HOLGER RUNE: Yeah, it was amazing. Support in general on the court was incredible, again for both players. Really, really cool.

Yeah, the support from my box today was one of the best ever. Also we talked about it after. They had a lot of fun.

It was cool because I was super locked in today, focused, ready to battle until it's over. My mom was super pumped.

As we all talk about it in the team, there is Wimbledon once a year, you have to go full, do everything it takes to win, and leave your heart out there.

I feel very, very privileged that I have a team and family that supports me from the heart. I really felt that especially today, but of course I feel it always. But I really felt it today.

Q. Can you talk about how your mum influences you off the court.

HOLGER RUNE: She's a huge influence. She really helps to kind of keep me in the perfect state of mind. Obviously she knows me better than anybody.

Yeah, I mean, honestly that's also why she's traveling with me for every tournament. I want her for every tournament. I want her there because I really feel the support. Also if I feel like I have something that I want to get off my heart or something, I can always come to her and talk. We have this very unique relationship.

Q. You represent the Mouratoglou academy. Patrick is friends with Grigor. How did your team manage that?

HOLGER RUNE: I don't know. I mean, I don't know how to answer that question, to be honest. Let's say next round Carlos is also my friend, but now we play each other.

I think it's normal. When you're on the court you battle, but off the court you're friends. Me and Grigor, we are good friends.

I don't know how to answer that. Sorry. It's all good. The connection, as well.

Q. What did you remember of the doubles match with Alcaraz when you were 14?

HOLGER RUNE: Which match?

Q. Do you remember the doubles match?

HOLGER RUNE: Oh, the doubles, yeah. I do remember.

It's actually funny. It's funny you ask the question because obviously we're two singles players, I would call us. When a singles player plays doubles, they want to cover the court by themselves. We both try and did that a little bit, which is fun.

Again, it was good, because he's amazing. The more shots he could hit also the better. We played good together. I think we made semifinal, if I'm correct.

For sure I would like to play doubles with him again. I know he don't play a lot of doubles, me too. But maybe one day we can have a chance to play.

Q. What do you do to relax? What are your hobbies, girlfriend, whatever?

HOLGER RUNE: I try to get my mind off. Watch movies. Relax with my team. Just try to get my head off tennis. I think it's important, especially during these Grand Slams. I feel like I'm more and more experienced now as I've been to the second week now I think four times in my life.

Honestly, like, I feel better here. I don't feel like I've been here forever. Sometimes when you stay in a place for a long time, you get mentally exhausted. But I think we handle it very well this time.

I feel good. I feel fresh.

Q. This is your third quarterfinal. What have you learned about what you need to do and avoid to make deep runs?

HOLGER RUNE: Yeah, so I think the two times I made the quarterfinal, obviously I played the same guy twice, so I had not the best memories from the last time I did.

Now it's a new opportunity. It's the first time here in Wimbledon, so everything is new, which is nice. It's great to play Alcaraz in a match like this. It's really exciting. It's a match that I want to play.

For me, I'm just going to give full. I know it's a big chance for me to be in the quarters, going deep in the tournament. I'm going to try to take the chance because you don't get it every week.

Q. Are you surprised yourself at how quickly some of this success has come?

HOLGER RUNE: I stay in the moment and I'm really, really eager to improve. To be honest, it doesn't feel like I'm going really fast. But also, you see Alcaraz, he's doing even better than me.

It's in a different way. I feel like I'm pushing every day. Of course, I admire the good results I make, but I have really high ambitions.

I always search for more.