© Getty Images Sport – Clive Brunskill
Holger Rune is “complimented” to hear Novak Djokovic comparing their tennis but the 20-year-old Dane admitted he doesn’t really feel they play similarly. On Sunday, Djokovic started his ATP Finals campaign with a tight 7-6 (4) 6-7 (1) 6-3 win.
Djokovic, who also beat Rune in three sets at the Paris Masters recently, now owns a 3-2 head-to-head against the Dane. Rune is definitely not an easy opponent for Djokovic and he received the ultimate compliment from the Serb himself after their latest match.
“It’s like looking at myself in the mirror. He is so good all over the court. He has some amazing escapes at the net. He makes a big serve, he makes a kick serve. He is dynamic. He lives off the energy of the audience. He has everything in his game.
We all know that he has a great future ahead of him. He wants to win slams and he is definitely one of those who has the skills to do so. Hopefully, we can have more of this kind of match,” Djokovic said of Rune.
Rune responds to Djokovic’s major praise
“No.
I mean, of course, I take the compliment that he’s saying we play similarly. I don’t think so, but that’s my opinion. It’s good to be comparing with him. He’s one of the greatest that we ever had in the game,” Rune said when asked about Djokovic’s comments.
In the first set, Rune was up by a break before Djokovic came back to force a tie-break, in which the Serb realized his second set point to win the opener. After losing the first set, Rune blew a break in the second set and also didn’t convert a set point in the 10th game – but started the tie-break with a 6-0 lead before converting his third set point to force a decider.
In the third set, Rune recovered from an early break down but lost his service again in the sixth game and that was enough for Djokovic to seal a three-set win.
