Holger Rune lost out in a tense Quarter-Final with Casper Ruud at the 2022 French Open with this nature seemingly spilling into the locker room at Roland Garros.
Ruud sealed a 6-1, 4-6, 7-6 (7/2), 6-3 win and according to the Danish teenager celebrated in his face after a match which saw Rune take out his frustrations on court and tensions mounted throughout.
“I didn’t want to give him a hug after the match. He got a high-five and then I just had to get away from him”, Rune told Danish daily Ekstra Bladet.
“He just went straight up to me and shouted “YEEEESSSS” right up in my face,” he added.
“You can cheer on the court all you want and be happy. I do that myself when I win. But that’s such bad style. Have some respect”, he added.
But this was a claim denied out of hand as a 'pure lie' by Ruud's father and coach, Christian Ruud only for Rune's mum to say his father wasn't in the room when it happened so cannot comment.
“I don’t know Holger personally, but I have seen on TV that sometimes there can be a lot of drama. He’s young and new, so that’s excusable, but when you’re on a big stage, it might be time to grow up a bit”, Ruud told Norwegian daily VG.