"Rafael Nadal is here" - Holger Rune says he doesn't feel like the top seed in Brisbane due to Spaniard's presence

Holger Rune has lived up to his top-seeding in Brisbane so far, but he feels Rafael Nadal is still the man to beat at the ATP 250 tournament.

Rune continued his good start to the 2024 ATP tour on Thursday (January 5), beating local favorite James Duckworth 6-2, 7-6(6) to reach the last four at the Brisbane International. The Dane will next face Russia's Roman Safiullin for a place in the championship match.

During his post-match interview, the World No. 8 was informed that he has been seeded first at five tournaments. In response, however, Rune claimed that seeding never mattered much to him. He then suggested that he didn't feel like a top seed in Rafael Nadal's presence anyway, leaving the entire crowd in splits.

“When you step on court you don’t really think about it. It’s a nice feeling… Obviously, it’s tough to call me the 1st seed when Rafa is here,” Rune said during his on-court interview.

Holger Rune also spoke about his performance, expressing satisfaction at how he was able to deal with his opponent's charge in second set.

"It was a really good match, especially the first set,'' he said. "I started strong, put him under pressure and was feeling good with my shots. He changed the strategy a bit (in the second set) ... I'm happy I was able to close it in two sets, I feel great."

"Rafael Nadal played unbelievable, the hardest practice I've had the last half year" - Holger Rune

Rafael Nadal hits a forehand at the 2024 Brisbane International.

Holger Rune namedropping Rafael Nadal in his interview hardly comes as a surprise. The 20-year-old earlier raved about the Spaniard after they trained together ahead of the 2024 Brisbane International.

He claimed that the session was "probably the hardest practice he's had over the last half year."

"It's funny, like after the practice I talked to my team, and I thought he played unbelievable. We were hitting. He was hitting strong. He always used to hit strong," Rune said in his pre-tournament press conference in Brisbane. "Then we started points, and I thought he was moving very well, moving side to side extremely fast.

"I think the intensity he brings is incredible. Like, I've been playing I think a very intense pre-season and a very intense end of the season last year, and that was probably the hardest practice I've had the last half year, I would say," he added.

Rafael Nadal, meanwhile, will take on Australia's Jordan Thompson in the quarterfinals of the Brisbane International later on Friday (January 5). The 37-year-old is bidding to win his first ATP title since June 2022.