Holger Rune
stated that it's not yet time to talk about a new Big 3 alongside
Jannik Sinner
and
Carlos Alcaraz, as only the latter has won a Grand Slam title.
The World
No. 6 is currently in Toronto to compete in the Masters 1000
Canadian Open this
week, where he shares the draw with Carlos Alcaraz and Holger Rune, all in the
top half.
This means
they could potentially face each other in quarterfinals and, in Rune's case,
possibly meet the World No. 1 in such a scenario and Sinner in a potential
semifinal.
Although
Alcaraz, Rune, and Sinner are all 20 years old, with Sinner being 21, they have
already made a significant impact on the ATP tour.
Many have
considered their young age and rapid rise as indicative of a potential
long-lasting rivalry, akin to the Big 3's dominance in the last two decades,
with Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic virtually sharing all the
major titles.
In a press
conference prior to the start of the Canadian Open, Rune emphasized that it is
still too early to compare their achievements to those of the Big 3, given that
only Alcaraz has secured a Grand Slam title so far.
“I know and
I heard people talk about it and things too early to say and you know, only one
of us has won has won grand slams and that’s Carlos but yeah I mean we’re young
of course, we have time on our side,” Rune said about Alcaraz
“But still
we got to make the results so umm you know I you know have to focus on myself
and I’m sure Jannik, I’m sure Alcaraz does that and go with our own journey and
then it’s a good debate for tennis,” he added.
Holger Rune
has only played two matches against Jannik Sinner, with both victories going to
the Danish player. They met in the semifinals of the 2022 Sofia Open and the
semifinals of the 2023 Monte-Carlo tournament.
Regarding
his matches against Carlos Alcaraz, they have faced each other three times,
with two wins for the Spanish player and one for Rune. The victory for Rune
came in the quarterfinals of the 2023 Paris Masters, where he eventually became
the champion.
The most repeated
matchup on the ATP tour is between Alcaraz and Sinner, with six encounters and
an even 3-3 head-to-head record. One of these matches took place in the final
of the 2022 Umag Open, which concluded with Sinner as the champion.