Holger Rune surprised everyone except his mother
Holger Rune's level during the Barcelona ATP 500 final against Carlos Alcaraz surprised fans and insiders alike. Almost no one expected such a performance from the Danish star, who was not going through the best moment of his young career and had always been defeated by the Spanish ace in recent clashes.
Rune has shown that he is back on the right track after a long period of crisis and is finally surrounded by the right people, after changing coaches several times in the last year and a half making a lot of confusion.
The current world number 9 was considered as the main threat to the dominance of Jannik Sinner and Carlitos Alcaraz, but the excessive pressure on his shoulders and a series of wrong choices had moved him away from the top positions of the ATP rankings.
Rune did not impress his team
Holger played a perfect final in Catalonia, adopted precise tactics from start to finish and did not lose his certainties in the decisive moments. The tiebreak of the first set had a decisive importance, also because in the second set the local idol suffered discomfort in the adductor of his right leg and was no longer competitive.
In a long interview with 'Ekstra Bladet' ahead of the Mutua Madrid Open, Aneke Rune – Holger's mother – confessed that she was not surprised by her son's level: "We knew how hard he had worked during the pre-season and early 2025, which is why no team member was surprised by Rune's level.
I don't think Carlos was surprised either, because they've known each other since they were kids. He had several problems in the weeks leading up to the Barcelona tournament, including food poisoning, but it was great to see him back in top shape. We hope to achieve great results in Madrid and Rome as well."
Alcaraz's forfeit in Madrid certainly represents a chance for several players, including Rune himself. The Dane has never shown consistency up to this point in his career, but his attitude seems different than in the past.
