Holger Rune & Novak Djokovic Break Down Their 2023 Rome Match 🗣️

Congratulations, you said you're so pumped right now. I think that's the overwhelming feeling. Yeah, for sure. It's really, you know, a big win for me. Obviously, I did it last year in Paris as well. But, you know, every match is a huge challenge for me when I play against Novak. He's, you know, obviously one of the greatest that ever played the game. So I know I had to be at my best. And I said it yesterday and I was today. So I'm super proud of myself. And, you know, I enjoyed every moment out there. You can be very proud to beat Novak again twice in a row. Is it hard to stay humble when you know I've just beaten a guy who hasn't lost a quarterfinal here in 10 years? No, no, I stay humble, of course. You know, I mean, I have a lot to achieve before I can. I mean, I don't think ever you can. You know, you should always be humble. And, you know, I think I am. I hope so. I hope people see me this way. And, you know, I'm a huge fighter on the court. And I leave everything when I play my matches. And I'm super proud that I was able to get the victory today. I had to fight hard and play my best tennis. And I mean, huge credit to Novak. I'm a big fan of him. As I said, he's a huge inspiration. So I wish him all the best. Novak, tough one today. It seems like he gets to every ball. What's it makes it so difficult to finish off the points against him? Yeah, I mean, slower conditions these days, I think this is probably the the coldest and the wettest tournament I've ever played here in Rome. You know, I don't recall so many days in a row raining. And so obviously in this kind of conditions, it's very difficult to get the ball past him. He's very, very fast, very quick, a great anticipation and just a very talented, dynamic player, you know, all round player. And yeah, he was just he was just better. He played too good for me, you know, for most of the part of the match. You know, I did have a bad start of the third set. I think that's where match kind of shifted to his side. And, you know, he kept his nerves and deserved to win. You beat Novak two times, twice. You think that your way of playing can be a problem for Novak for some aspects of your game? I mean, I hope so. I'm trying to make it difficult for him. And I think I've managed to do that now two times in a row to make it difficult for him. But for sure, he makes it very difficult for me also. So it's a good battle every time we play. And, you know, I like to battle with him. You know, he's a great player to play because he makes it so challenging for me, which is I find that, you know, nice because I can really see where I have to improve and what is working, because, you know, if it's working against Novak, it works against almost anybody. So I'm super happy with the win. Are you still confident for French? Yes. Hi, Novak. Which tips would you like to give to Rune for his career? Thanks. I'm going to ask him tips. He beat me twice. We played against each other, so I have no tips for him. So far, he's doing very well. With what you've already achieved on clay this season, do you now see yourself as one of the key favourites for French Open? I still think, I mean, if Rafa is ready, Novak, I still see those two as the biggest favourites. But obviously, you know, there's Alcaraz also. There's Sinner. There's, you know, there's a couple of other guys that also did well in the clay season and here this year. So I see it maybe more open this year than the other years. And it's interesting. It makes it more fun. So we'll see. I'm just going to fight for every match I play. Do you feel like you've got enough out of this tournament to prepare for Paris, considering the conditions? And what else do you need going into Paris? Nothing, I mean, just training and getting ready for the most important tournament of the clay season for me. You know, I know I can always play better, but and definitely I'm looking forward to to working on various aspects of my game, of my body and hopefully getting myself in 100% shape. You know, that's that's the goal. And, you know, I always like my chances in Grand Slams against anybody on any surface and best of five. Let's see how it goes. Do you think this is going to be the most open French Open of the past 20 years? It depends if Nadal plays or not. But next to him, of course, Alcaraz, Rooney, you know, these guys are are right there in the contention. You know, one of the some of the biggest favourites to win the title. This one will be the first year you're going to Roland-Garros as one of the favourite player. I remember a few years ago, you said one of your goal of your career was to win more Roland-Garros than Nadal. Do you think you can still achieve it? Well, I mean, I actually got asked this question there. A couple of days ago, and I'm just going to say first, I have to start with one and we see. I mean, I want to win a Grand Slam this year. That's what that's what I said here in the past. And I stick to that. And obviously, I hope it can be achieved at the French Open. But if not, you know, I hope to to make it in the other other two Grand Slams. But first, first we start with one and then we see. New players for Paris to win the title. Yeah, obviously. I mean, a new generation is is here already. I mean, Alcaraz is number one in the world from Monday and obviously he's playing amazing tennis. And I think it's also good for our sport that we have new faces and new guys coming up. It's normal. You know, we've been saying this for years, that we can expect it to come, that moment to come when you're going to have kind of shift of generations. And, you know, I'm personally still trying to hang in there, you know, with all of them. And I'm happy with, you know, of course, very happy with my career so far. So I still I still have the hunger to keep going. And let's see. Let's see how far I'm going to play.