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2022 finalist Casper Ruud ousted Holger Rune in the quarterfinals of the 2023 French Open on June 7.
Reflecting on the result, John McEnroe’s brother Patrick McEnroe, a former doubles French Open champion himself, was surprised at how tired the young Dane looked during the loss. The American was especially shocked by the scoreline of the first two sets (1-6, 2-6).
Rune was resurgent in the third set, but it was not enough as he was defeated 1-6, 2-6, 6-3, 3-6 by the World No. 4. The 20-year-old made 30 unforced errors in the first two sets, and seemed sluggish in his movement.
Patrick McEnroe said he was surprised that Holger Rune did not show up for the first two sets and looked physically spent. The Dane received a walkover in the second round (against Gael Monfils) and had spent a combined 10 hours and 50 minutes on the court before his quarterfinal match.
Speaking on the latest episode of the ‘Holding Court with Patrick McEnroe’ podcast, the American reviewed all the quarterfinal performances from June 7, but Rune’s was the most shocking result for him.
“I was surprised that Rune just didn't show up the first couple [of] sets. Sounds like, and from what I could see, he just looked physically spent,” said McEnroe. “Which is a little bit surprising because he didn't - he only had one tough match.”
Patrick McEnroe recalled all of Rune’s previous round matches and said the only tough test faced by the World No. 6 at the French Open was against Francisco Cerundolo in the fourth round.
“Obviously, that was his previous match and went a long way to a fifth set breaker against Cerundolo, a minute shy of four hours. But he's a young guy, you think he'll be able to recover,” he said. “I mean, only one hard match for him. And he just seemingly had nothing in those first couple of sets.”
“I was fine physically, no excuse” - Holger Rune on his loss to Casper Ruud
Holger Rune, meanwhile, took complete responsibility for his loss to Casper Ruud in the 2023 French Open quarterfinals. The 20-year-old said he had no excuses and accepted that he started very poorly against a great opponent.
“I started very, very bad, unfortunately," said the World No. 6. “I didn't find my level at all the first two sets. It's too costly to start so late. Against a great player like him, he deserved to win because, first of all, I wasn't there the first two sets.”
Rune also admitted he had recovered from his nearly four-hour clash against Francisco Cerundolo, and made it clear that it was not an excuse for his performance on Wednesday night.
“I was fine physically. No excuse," he said. "I just didn't play my level. It's tough, but sometimes it's like this, and you have to learn from it, come back stronger.”
The Dane will next feature at the Cinch Championships, an ATP 500 event in London, from June 19-25.
