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Danish tennis star Holger Rune has made a bold prediction for his 2024 clay court season - that he will win the French Open this year. Rune was responding to the ATP Tour's questions about his predictions for the clay season and the French Open.
Interestingly, Rune, who is seen as a promising talent alongside Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz and Australian Open champion Jannik Sinner in the next generation of players, has had his best showing in the Majors at the French Open.
Holger Rune reached the quarterfinals of the French Open in 2022 and 2023. He won the BMW Open, which is played on outdoor clay courts in 2023. Rune finished as runner-up at the Monte-Carlo Masters in 2023, an ATP 1000 tournament that is played on clay courts.
"One bold prediction for the clay court season to win the French Open," Rune said responding to a query.
But when asked about the player who would win at Roland Garros this year, the Dane turned defensive. He said he would like to keep the choice quite open.
"This is a tricky question, because, you know, if I say myself you know people are going to be like 'oh ****!' And if I say another guy they're going to be like 'I don't believe you', but let's keep it open. Keep it open," Rune said.
Rune's best winning record has been on clay courts. His best win-loss record at the Majors is at the French Open where he enjoys a 78% winning percentage. Rune has a 100% win record at the Munich Open, a clay court tournament. He has an 83% winning percentage at the Italian Open, an ATP 1000 event played on clay courts, where he finished as runner-up in 2023.
The Dane's best performance so far in his career, however, came at the Paris Masters, an ATP-1000 event played on hard courts, where he lifted the trophy by beating Novak Djokovic in three sets in 2022.
Holger Rune has his task cut out in the clay season
Holger Rune has his task cut out in the clay season as he has a lot of points to defend following his good showing on the surface last year. He won the Munich Open and finished as runner-up at the Monte-Carlo Masters and Rome Masters.
Alongside Rune, Novak Djokovic, who won the French Open last year, and Carlos Alcaraz, who won titles at Madrid and Barcelona in 2023, have the highest points to defend in the clay season on the ATP Tour.
While Rune will have to defend 1855 points, Alcaraz has to defend 2265 points until after Roland Garros. Djokovic, the No. 1 player now, has to defend 2315 points. The Serb's top ranking is being challenged now by Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner of Italy with just about 1000 points separating them in the rankings.
