Holger Rune is a really interesting prospect, as a player brimming with talent who just seems incapable of converting it into tangible success.
Once tipped to join Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner as part of a new Big Three, it’s fair to say that they have left the 22-year-old in the dust with their recent success.
Whilst they have shared the last six Grand Slam titles between them, Rune is yet to even reach a semi-final at a major.
But, time remains on his side, and there’s still so much tennis left to be played before his potential can be written off.
He didn’t help himself though, just last week, with his performance at Queen’s.
Holger Rune’s performance at Queen’s blasted
Coming off the back of a fourth-round exit at Roland Garros, Rune jumped straight back into action with a comfy win over Christopher O’Connell at Queen’s.
Then, beating Mackenzie McDonald in the Round of 16, he set up a quarter-final clash with Roberto Bautista Agut.
Expected to be another easy triumph for the Dane, he instead conspired to lose the match, leaving pundits David Law and Catherine Whitaker very unhappy.
The former started by telling The Tennis Podcast: ‘He still looks immature on a tennis court in a way, the way he lost to Roberto Bautista Agut, at Queen’s the other week. But I mean, that was so poor, that performance.’
Whitaker then added: ‘Yeah, I’m a Holger Rune believer and that result really tested me, that performance.’
Holger Rune’s historical performances at Wimbledon
Wimbledon is one of just two Grand Slams where Rune has made it to the quarter-finals, which marks his best-ever run at a major.
He achieved that feat in 2023, and made the fourth round last year, suggesting that he is finding some consistency at this event at least.
However, there does feel like a barrier is present that he cannot break through when it comes to these elite events, no greater exemplified than in his defeat at the hands of Jack Draper earlier this year at Indian Wells.
Rune did win the Barcelona Open, defeating Alcaraz in the final, but these kinds of results are rare.
Facing a first-time finalist at the Masters 1000 level, Rune should have put the British number one to the sword.
Instead, he was swept aside, 6-2, 6-2.
Rune needs to start putting together some deep runs on a regular basis to avoid becoming a player who is remembered for what he could have done, rather than what he actually achieved.
