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Ahead of his clash against Holger Rune, World No. 112 Yannick Hanfmann joked that given the Dane's young age, he can't be considered the favorite when they face each other.
Rune, 19, became the first teenager since Rafael Nadal to reach the finals of the Monte-Carlo Masters last week. However, he was denied a second Masters 1000 title by Andrey Rublev, who beat Rune, 5-7, 6-2, 7-5, in the summit clash of the clay tournament.
The World No. 7 will next be in action in Germany, competing in the 2023 BMW Open. The 19-year-old received a bye in the first round and will lock horns with 31-year-old Hanfmann in the second round, who will be playing in front of his home crowd.
While speaking to the media after his first-round match, Hanfmann was asked about his upcoming clash with Holger Rune. The 31-year-old joked that he is the favorite to win the tie as Rune is still young and hence too inexperienced to be considered the favorite. He also said that he was looking forward to facing him on the court.
"He's very young, so very inexperienced - I'm definitely the favorite," Yannick Hanfmann said.
In his first-round match, Hanfmann defeated Brazil's Thiago Monteiro, 6-7(3), 7-6(5), 6-2, to set up a second-round clash with the 2022 French Open quarterfinalist.
"I gave it my all" - Holger Rune on his Monte-Carlo final loss
Holger Rune won his maiden ATP Masters event in 2022 after defeating 22-time Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic in the final of the Paris Masters.
Having defeated a couple of former Grand Slam winners, Dominic Thiem and Daniil Medvedev, en route to the Monte-Carlo final, the Dane was hopeful of winning the second Masters 1000 title of his career.
Speaking to the media after the match, Holger Rune reflected on his loss against Rublev. He said that he had given his all and left no stone unturned.
"I obviously feel like it was a long match yesterday. We finished late. I didn't have much time to recover. It is what it is. I gave it all. Didn't have any more in me. I did what I could, and I was very close," Rune said.
The Dane expressed his disappointment at not being able to win the tie.
"I was definitely in control in the third set and also I would say mostly in the first set as well, but again, I didn't manage to close it out. Disappointing, but again, it's part of tennis," Holger Rune added.
