Proud Rune Eager To Continue Learning Process After Turin Exit

Corinne Dubreuil/ATP Tour

Holger Rune suffered his second three-set loss of the Nitto ATP Finals on Thursday against Jannik Sinner, the 6-2, 5-7, 6-4 defeat ending his Turin debut in the group stage. While the Dane rued his missed break point late in the final set, he remained grounded post-match, offering a positive perspective on his year as a whole.

"I had a good season. When you finish in the top eight, you can be proud of yourself," said the Dane, who travelled to Turin as an alternate in 2022. 

"I think that I could have done some things better this year — actually, a lot of things. That's how it is. It's a learning process. Next year I'm going to try to learn from this year... It's a good experience to be at this level."

Discussing his first Lexus ATP Head2Head loss in three meetings against Sinner, Rune said he felt the pressure knowing that he needed a win to advance to the semi-finals.

"Obviously he played very free. This match, he had absolutely nothing to lose," said the Dane, noting that Sinner's progress to the knockout rounds was secured before the match. "That probably put down his nerves a little bit. Who knows. But yeah, again, there was obviously a lot of pressure on me in this match. I tried to handle it as well as I could. I was close, but not enough."

While he wished the remaining competitors luck in the final days of the Nitto ATP Finals, Rune is already thinking about his pre-season plans.

"I'm going to try to get over it as fast as possible," he said of his defeat. "Obviously there's no more matches this season. It's finished. It's done. There's no need to worry about anything... I'm just going to take some rest and start my pre-season."