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Rennae Stubbs wasted no time coming to the defense of Holger Rune after he faced a chorus of boos from the spectators as he stepped onto the court for his match against the crowd favorite, Fabio Fognini.
Rune, displaying his remarkable skill, defeated the 130th-ranked Italian with a convincing 6-4, 6-2 victory in the third round of the 2023 Italian Open, extending his head-to-head record against Fognini to 2-0. Their initial encounter occurred last year at the Canadian Open, where Rune also emerged triumphant in straight sets.
When the 20-year-old entered the Grand Stand Arena on Sunday, May 14, the crowd in attendance gave him a hostile reaction, welcoming him with boos. However, the World No. 7 did not react and kept his focus locked on the match.
Upon finding out what happened, former doubles World No. 1 Stubbs slammed the spectators, saying that their behavior was "disgraceful" and that the youngster did not deserve such treatment.
"Disgraceful... I mean it's normal when you argue or carry on when you're in Italy playing an Italian, we have all been there. But this is disgraceful behavior. @holgerrune2003 doesn't deserve that," Stubbs said.
In an on-court interview after winning, Rune decided to give it back to the Italian fans, saying that their efforts to disrupt his rhythm were unsuccessful.
"You know, actually, it was a couple of guys who tried to make me lose focus behind the court. But yeah guys, it didn’t work. I stayed in the zone,” Rune said. "It was just, you know, support for him during the match, of course, it got closer in the first set and they were [starting] to get wild."
Holger Rune prefers altercation with fans than an empty stadium
2022 Paris Masters champion Holger Rune turned pro in 2020 but has already built a reputation as the 'bad boy' of tennis, with numerous confrontations with his opponents, officials, and spectators. Former player Todd Woodbridge recently remarked that the Danish youngster was gradually taking over the role of Nick Kyrgios.
After defeating Fabio Fognini on May 14, Rune spoke to Prakash Amritraj on the Tennis Channel and suggested that altercations made the sport exciting and took it to another level.
"It's great energy. Obviously, it was a crazy atmosphere today, especially at the end of the first set but obviously, it's part of the game, it's fun, and it makes it more fun to play like this than without any crowd," Holger Rune said. "Fognini, he's a crazy character as well, he brings a lot of energy out there. It's cool as it brings tennis to another level altogether."
Rune will face 77th-ranked Alexei Popyrin in the fourth round of the 2023 Italian Open on Tuesday, May 16. The winner will take on either Novak Djokovic or Cameron Norrie in the quarterfinals.
