Holger Rune beat Marco Trungelliti in the Hamburg Open Round of 16. He will now take on Arthur Fils in the quarterfinal in the lead up to Paris Olympics.
Holger Rune won his second match in Hamburg, and InsideSport attended the press conference after the match, where the Dane shared his thoughts on his expectations for the Olympics.
Holger Rune only won one match from late july until late october in 2023, so he has already surpassed that negative record from last year by being through to the quarterfinals in Hamburg, where he beat Marco Trungelliti 6-4, 6-3.
Obviously, he has the rest of this tournament to focus on. But after Hamburg he has to travel to the French capital to compete in the Paris Olympics. He has a dream of bringing a medal home to his country.
I feel like I can win it
Rune expressed his confidence ahead of the Olympics, when he spoke to the accredited press after his win against Trungelliti.
“I am very confident (going into the Olympics, ed.). I feel like I can do it (win the tournament, ed.),” Rune said to the press.
I believe in myself and I am sure there will be many Danish fans to support not only me but all the Danish athletes. I think we are going to do well, and we are not only good in tennis but in a lot of sports, so I am sure Denmark can get some medals.”
“I´m going to focus on doing my job and bring some medals back to Denmark.”
I am a better player than last year
After speaking on his goal for the Olympics, Rune expressed how he has improved as a player and a person since the same time last year.
“I feel like I’m a much better player this year than I was last year at the same time, even though the ranking was different. I feel like I have grown as a person, player and athlete.”
“It always feels great to play without having any points to defend, but at the same time, I always put a lot of pressure on myself to perform. I have high standards for myself. I am not where I want to be yet, so I want to improve and have good results.”
“I was not playing that well last year after Wimbledon, and I feel like I am better physically and mentally now than last year. I feel like I am going in the right direction. I am only 21 years old, so I can only be better from here.”
Rune is currently ranked 17 in the world, but with today’s win he is 16th in the live ranking. He will hope to add even more points, when he is facing Frenchman Arthur Fils tomorrow.
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