Holger Rune's 7-2 record against top-five opposition is not statistics. It's a mentality. The 20-year-old started the 2022 season ranked outside the top 100 and came into Roland Garros at No. 40. A year later, the world No. 6 - whose play is a mix of the fast and furious - is a contender for the singles title at the French Open.
The 7-2 record included a seven-match winning streak against top-5 opponents which ended with a loss to Russian Daniil Medvedev in Rome a week ago. The mettle of the 20-year-old is in his meteoric rise. It's not about the shots - forehand and backhand - untethered though, it's in the sizzle.
"When I enter the court, I am fearless," Rune told TOI in an exclusive chat. "Even though I'm not the best in the rankings yet, I tell myself I am the best and I won't let anyone beat me."
"I believe in myself when I step on the court," said Rune, whose fidgety strain gives him an unsettled air. "When I play against, let's say Novak (Djokovic), I believe that I can beat him. It may happen, maybe it doesn't happen, but if I come into the match not believing then for sure it is not going to happen. I strongly believe that I have the tennis to beat most players everytime. " Rune's wins against top-five opponents have come against - Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Casper Ruud, Medvedev and Alexander Zverev.
Rune, seeded sixth and in the bottom half of the draw at Roland Garros, could run into last year's finalist Ruud in the last eight.
The Dane believes there is a difference in the attitude of this generation that is just breaking through. Alcaraz, 20 and Jannik Sinner, 21, along with Rune are the leaders of this bunch.
"We are different from this generation (which includes Medvedev and Tsitsipas), we are more fearless. We believe more in ourselves. Rafa Nadal, Novak and Roger Federer have achieved so much, they are still doing. That doesn't mean it is not tough to beat the other guys, I just lost to Medvedev (in the final in Rome) they play incredible, but yeah we are different."
"I have grown up watching Roger, Rafa and Novak, wanting to be like them," Rune explained. "I want to fight, to be like them one day, whether it happens or not we'll see, but if I push to maximize my potential and be the best I can be, I will be proud of myself."
Like his play, Rune's temperament is explosive. Three-time major winner Stan Wawrinka asked him to 'stop behaving like a baby' when they played last year in November. In Indian Wells in March, where they met again, the Swiss came through and Rune asked, 'got nothing to say now?'
"It is up to every player how they want to speak about a player," Rune said with a laugh. "If you have the energy to speak about other players, maybe something is wrong."
"Obviously if I was 100 in the world nobody would speak about me, I think it's a positive thing."
Rune, who travels with his mother, has a support team that includes two coaches Lars Christensen and now Patrick Mouratoglou. "My mother is a very positive person. She has this mindset that everything is possible. No matter where you come from you can still make it," he said. "If you fight for it and you have the right people around you, you can make it where you want to make it. My mother had a different journey and she made it. I hope to make it too, one day."
In Rune's book, he has far from arrived. Safe to say, the Dane is on his way.
