Holger Rune. In Europe. Indoors. For the final few months of 2022, that combination almost always produced one result.
The 19-year-old rounded out his year with 20 wins in 22 matches across four tournaments in a stunning late-season charge, but past victories do not guarantee future success. Rune knows he has to stay focused if he wants to recreate that form at this week’s Open Sud de France in Montpellier, his first indoor ATP Tour event of the new season.
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Now at a career-high No. 9 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, Rune will compete as the top seed on tournament debut in France. Despite his status as the highest-ranked player in the field, he will not take anything for granted — especially when the list of rivals ready to challenge the Dane at the ATP 250 event includes World No. 17 Jannik Sinner.“Now that I have been in the Top 10, it’s going to be even harder,” Rune told ATPTour.com after his remarkable title run at the Rolex Paris Masters. “Because people start to know my game more. So I have to keep improving.”
Rune and Sinner are not the only Top 20 stars making a move indoors following January’s Australian Swing, as Taylor Fritz and Frances Tiafoe look to ride home support to victory at the Dallas Open. Diego Schwartzman also heads for familiar territory — the Argentine is the top seed on the clay at the Cordoba Open.
Photo/HolgerRune/Twitter
ATP Tour Weekly contributed to this column
