Rune full of praise for Alcaraz after retirement win in Paris: "Of course, he is No. 1, so he is obviously the best in the world right now"

Holger Rune advanced to the Paris Masters semi-final after Carlos Alcaraz retired and the Dane praised the Spaniard.

It was a very good and exciting match between Alcaraz and Rune but an abdominal injury prevented the Spaniard to stay in the match and compete on. The duo know each other well having grown up together on the Tour and they actually played doubles as youngsters as well.

Following the match, Rune showered Alcaraz with high praise highlighting his respect for the Spaniard:

“Carlos is, if not the best, one of the best return players in the world. Of course, he is No. 1, so he is obviously the best in the world right now, but I’m super happy with how I handled all the things under pressure and how I handled also my return game. I tried to play as aggressive as possible. Sometimes I missed a few shots but it was all worth it because at the end I was very good at important moments."

On the match itself, Rune added:

“I thought it was a great match. [It's] unlucky for him,” said Rune. “I think we both played very well and I was super focused. It was an amazing crowd, amazing tennis, so I’m super pleased with how I handled everything today.”