ROLEX PARIS MASTERS

November 1, 2024

Holger Rune

Press Conference

H. RUNE/A. de Minaur

6-4, 4-6, 7-5

THE MODERATOR: Well done, Holger.

HOLGER RUNE: Thank you.

THE MODERATOR: That was a great battle. What was the key today?

HOLGER RUNE: Yeah, it was a good match. I think I started very well and played a good first set. He played good in the second set. Third set was really competitive, and I think I took the match on my racquet. At the end I went for it. I got it, so I'm very pleased on how I ended the match.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. Congrats. It seems like it was a very tough match, mentally speaking, and you manage it being very calm, maybe calmer than what we're used to see when we see you playing.

HOLGER RUNE: Trust me, I was not calm at all (smiling). It was a big, big battle throughout the whole match, you know. I had many opportunities that I didn't manage to take also, so that was very frustrating.

Yeah, I kept it together, I kept fighting, I kept looking forward trying to find solutions. I have a lot of respect for Alex. He's a tough competitor. He makes you play an extra ball always, so I had to win it. That's what I told myself, I need to go for it in order to get what I want.

I think tactically I played very smart, especially in the first and third set. Second set I played more on his terms and he played well, so credit to him. But very happy with the way I handled the situation.

Q. It's been a bit of a tumultuous year for you regarding the changes in your team and everything. I wonder how important it was for you to play that well here at the end of this season with Lars, and if you feel it clicking back, as it was, a couple years ago?

HOLGER RUNE: Yeah. As I said, it's great to be back with the people that I really trust and has been with me for all my life. It feels good. We're working well day in and day out. We all know each other very well. So it feels good.

I feel like I'm building my game and getting -- you know, actually, I don't like the words saying "back to the level I had," but we are improving. I think I'm playing better and better, moving better and better.

I think it's good. You know, I'm playing some good tennis when it matters the most on court. Very happy to get through today to be in the semis.

Q. Where do you find, at the end of the season when we have known you didn't have an easy year, where do you find this fire in your belly, this fighting spirit?

HOLGER RUNE: I mean, it's really the way that I give myself the best chance to win, is by keep going. You know, if I stop, I'm not gonna win (smiling), so I need to just push through it.

Even though today was obviously annoying losing the second set, but that's life. The only thing I can do is to reset and come back and push, because, you know, I know if I play my best tennis, I can beat anyone.

So, you know, that's what I told myself, like, let's get back to it, give myself a chance to win the match. Physically I know I'm good enough to play as long as it takes.

About my tennis, you know, I think if I play optimal and do the right thing, I can always give myself a chance to win.

Q. Has this year changed at all the way you're approaching the sport in general and the expectations that you're putting on yourself?

HOLGER RUNE: Yeah, I mean, you know, I'm obviously working very, very hard every day to play better with my team, you know, trusting the things that we're working on. Just, you know, pushing the limits really every day, like 1% better.

I think, to answer your question, it's not really changed the way my approach is, but it's definitely very professional, very serious, and we are having good fun, as well. It's just a constant progress.

Q. According to the notes of the ATP this morning, you have got a chance of going to the Masters, the Finals. Is that, like, a thought or a goal or not at all?

HOLGER RUNE: I mean, not really, to be honest. My focus is just to do well here in Paris. It's this tournament that means almost everything to me. It's where it all started a few years back. My goal is to do as good as possible here and then we see what happens after.

Definitely 100% of my focus is in Paris, and it's going to keep being in Paris until the job is done.

Q. Another match against Sascha in Paris. I guess you remember this one against Sascha in Roland Garros. How do you forecast this one?

HOLGER RUNE: Yeah, it's going to be interesting. Sascha is a great player. He's been not just this year but consistently one of the best out there in the world.

I'm looking forward to the challenge. We played an epic battle in Paris, and looking forward, honestly. I'm going to try to play my best tennis and, you know, believe that I can give myself a chance to win, and let's see what happens.