Holger Rune admitted that he was left starstruck purely by Roger Federer “mentioning [his] name”. The world No 4 had to miss out on representing Team Europe at this weekend’s Laver Cup due to injury. But the tournament co-founder Federer was still thinking about Rune in the Dane’s absence as he hailed the next generation of tennis stars and said he “missed out” on facing the 20-year-old.
Rune was set for his Laver Cup debut but was forced to withdraw due to a back injury that has been bothering him for months. The Dane has become one of the sport’s biggest young stars in the last year, stunning Novak Djokovic to win the Paris Masters last November before cracking the top 5 this season.
But his breakthrough came shortly after Federer retired at last year’s Laver Cup, meaning the pair never crossed paths on the tennis court. And Rune’s admiration for the Swiss star became apparent as he admitted to being “starstruck” after hearing Federer say his name in an interview.
“I admit it. I am a starstrucked,” the four-time title winner wrote in response to the video, adding a starry-eyed emoji. “I had to listen twice, (maybe 3-4 times), Roger mentioning my name #legend.”
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It comes after Federer mentioned the 20-year-old when he was asked about the current state of men’s tennis following his retirement. The former world No 1 praised Novak Djokovic’s recent historic achievement at the US Open – winning his 24th Grand Slam title – before turning his attention to the next generation.
“Young guys coming through as well,” he told Eurosport. “A generation that I didn’t play at all actually. Rune, [Jannik] Sinner, [Carlos] Alcaraz, unfortunately I missed them, you know, playing against them. But I think the future looks bright.”
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While Rune was never able to face Federer, he has taken on one of the 42-year-old’s greatest rivals – Djokovic. The world No 4 has a winning record against the 24-time Major winner, beating him in last year’s Paris final as well as this year’s Italian Open quarter-final.
Djokovic’s only victory over the youngster came in the first round of the 2021 US Open. At the time, Rune was an 18-year-old qualifier ranked down at No 145 in the world and he managed to take one set off of the Serb.
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