From Nadal to Federer, Holger Rune reveals his favorite players growing up

Holger Rune recently revealed the names of his favorite players growing up, including Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.

Rune recently competed in the Sunshine Double, advancing to the third round of the Indian Wells Open. He was then knocked out by veteran Stan Wawrinka in a highly controversial match. At the Miami Open, he was knocked out in the fourth round by American Taylor Fritz.

Following that, in an interview with Gio Journal, Holger Rune was asked to name his favorite players growing up. The Dane responded that he was a Rafael Nadal fan at first, and had posters of the Spaniard all over his room. He shared that he later became a fan of Roger Federer and many other players.

"First, I was fan of Rafa. He was number one back then. I had Rafa posters all over my room. Then I became Roger fan and later I was fan of many players," Rune said.

He then went on to say that he admires Fernando Verdasco's forehand, Alexander Zverev's backhand, Novak Djokovic's return, Roger Federer's movements, and Rafael Nadal's fighter attitude, among other things.

"To be more specific , I am fan of Verdasco's forehand, Zverev’s backhand , Novak’s return, Rogers movements, Rafa’s fighter attitude, etc," Rune said.

The 19-year-old was then asked to name the greatest tennis player of all time. He responded that it's a difficult question to answer because he believes every player has something special to offer. He still named the Big 3 as the greatest based on their records.

"This question is impossible to answer for me. Since I started becoming a fan of specific things in various players, for me every player have something special you can learn from and admire," Rune said.

"Looking at number of wins for sure Novak, Rafa and Roger are the record holders and in that sense the greatest," he added.

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Rafael Nadal withdraws from the Monte-Carlo Masters 2023

Rafael Nadal pictured at the 2023 Australian Open - Day 3.

Rafael Nadal sustained a hip injury against Mackenzie McDonald in the second round of the 2023 Australian Open. News broke last month of the Spaniard making a comeback on clay at the upcoming Monte-Carlo Masters, delighting his fans around the globe.

However, the Spaniard took to Twitter to announce that he is still not ready to compete at his peak. He will, thus, will miss the 1000 Masters tournament in France, which he has won 11 times. He also expressed his desire to return to the court very soon.

"Hi everyone, I'm still not ready to compete at the highest level. I will not be able to play in one of the most important tournaments of my career, Monte Carlo," he wrote.

"I am not yet in a position to play with the maximum guarantees and I continue my preparation process, hoping to return soon," he added further.