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Holger Rune was furious after the ATP Tour’s official social media page praised Jannik Sinner’s form in their 2024 Monte-Carlo Masters quarterfinal amid the fiasco surrounding the Dane’s campaign.
Rune and Sinner faced off for a place in the semifinals of the Monte-Carlo Masters on Friday, April 12. The highly anticipated clash saw the latter take the lead by clinching the opener 6-4. Holger Rune, however, drew level by stealing the second set in the tie-break, fending off two match points in the process. Despite his best effort though, the 20-year-old fell short, with Jannik Sinner winning 6-4, 6-7 (6), 6-3.
It is worth noting that Rune was competing in his third match within a day. The seventh seed contested the final two sets of his opener against Sumit Nagal on Thursday, following a rain delay on Wednesday. Hours later, Holger Rune edged out Grigor Dimitrov 7-6 (9), 3-6, 7-6 (2) in a three-hours-and-30-minutes-long barn burner.
Despite the circumstances, Holger Rune was scheduled for a day match against Jannik Sinner on Friday. He also competed in doubles partnering Taylor Fritz following his loss to the Italian. Thus, after noticing the ATP tour’s “May the force be with you” comment directed at Sinner, Rune lashed out:
"Meaning what @atptour…..? Not that you gave me the best conditions in the first place having to play 2 matches the day before ending late, leaving almost no recovery time," he wrote on X.
The youngsters’ meeting was also marred by controversy. At 5-5, 0-30 in the second set, Rune was hit with a time violation warning for delaying his serve, resulting in boos from the crowd. The Dane gestured at the crowd with his hands in an attempt to quiet them down, but the chair umpire, Damien Dumusois, slapped him with an “unsportsmanlike conduct” warning.
The situation boiled over when Dumusois overruled an initial “out” call in Jannik Sinner’s favor during a crucial rally in the second set tiebreak. The ball was later shown to be out by the hawk-eye system visible only to viewers.
"Chair Umpire making crucial mistakes and giving wrong warning that disturbed the game. May the force be with you. Jesus Christ," he wrote.
Holger Rune's mother Aneke extends her support amid Monte-Carlo Masters fiasco
Holger Rune received his mother Aneke’s support after his Monte-Carlo Masters campaign ended prematurely, with a defeat to Jannik Sinner. The Dane was defending his runner-up finish from last year.
Highlighting his accomplishments across the week despite the unfavorable conditions, Aneke said:
"Not easy condition. Bravo Holger," she wrote on Instagram.
Following the Monte-Carlo Masters setback, Rune is set to drop out of the world’s top 10. He would hope to halt a further dip amid the mammoth task of defending 1255 more points during the claycourt season.
The 20-year-old will now head to Munich for the BMW Open, where he is chasing a third title on the trot, and his fifth career title overall.
