Holger Rune is confident that he is heading in the right direction despite suffering yet another early exit at the Swedish Open on Wednesday.
Rune, who was the top seed in Stockholm, was stunned in the second round by Memoir Kecmanovic who battled to a shock 7-6(3), 6-2, win. It is yet another disappointing result for the Dane who has lost nine out of his last 10 matches played on the Tour. The last time he achieved back-to-back wins was at Wimbledon where he reached the quarter-finals. During this period, Rune has also been dealing with a back injury and underwent treatment to address the problem.
Whilst things are not going as planned, the 20-year-old is maintaining an optimistic outlook for the rest of the season. At the end of this month, he will head to France to defend his title at the Paris Masters.
“I felt myself and my game more today than I did in a while,” Rune wrote on Instagram on Wednesday following his loss to Kecmanovic.
“So I feel confident now in making the last adjustments and finishing the year strong.”
Earlier this week, Rune dismissed suggestions from some that his lull in form on the Tour is linked to his girlfriend Caroline Donzella. Danish tennis expert Michael Mortensen has previously told Ekstra Bladet that Rune’s new relationship could be distracting him from his tennis.
“It’s nobody’s fault for my results, it’s own my fault. You can not blame everybody. It’s not something to do with her.” Rune replied during an interview with Expressen.
Felix finding his grove
Another player in recent months to have struggled on the Tour is Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime. Coming into this week, the world No.17 had failed to record back-to-back wins at 12 consecutive tournaments. The streak has finally come to an end at the Japan Open where he is the eighth seed.
Aliassime began his campaign in Tokyo with a hard-fought 7-6(3), 6-7(2), 6-2, win over Australia’s Aleksandar Vukic. Then in the second round, he beat Sebastian Ofner 6-4, 6-1.
“I believe in my game. I believe in myself, that I have what it takes to win at this level,” Auger-Aliassime said after beating Giron. “I’m happy my level is translating now to the match court after a couple of months. I look forward to the next matches & to build on this good win… I enjoy playing like this. After all, I’m still a young player. I enjoy all these moments. I enjoy playing the way I did.”
The 23-year-old will next play Marcos Giron in the quarter-finals. He is aiming to win his fifth ATP title in Tokyo and his first in 2023.
