Holger Rune: "I don't see myself as the bad boy, I don't break racquets"

Holger Rune reaffirmed that he doesn't see himself as a "bad boy" after beating Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals of the 2023 Italian Open.

Rune defeated Djokovic 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 at the Italian Open in a match in which Rune was once again booed by the crowd, this time for arguing with chair umpire Mohamed Lahyani after a call that went Djokovic's way.

It's become usual for the Dane to be booed by the crowd during his matches, as evidenced by his recent matches at the Madrid Open and in Rome. During the press conference after the big win against Djokovic, Holger Rune was asked how he feels about some people looking at him as 'the bad boy' of the circuit.

The Dane did not think that he was, opining that he did not fit the definition of a 'bad boy' -- someone who breaks racquets and does similar antics. Instead, Rune merely sees himself as a player with a lot of passion and energy.

"I don't see myself as the bad boy at all. I mean, I play with a lot of passion and energy when I'm on the court. I think many players do that. I don't know why that should be a bad boy thing, to play with energy on the court. A bad boy thing is to break racquets and stuff like this. If I remember well, I don't break a racquet when I play. I don't see myself like that," Holger Rune said.

"There's obviously a few things here and there. The umpire today. But again, I see the ball out, he saw it in. I saw on the Hawk-Eye after that the ball was out, so I don't know," he added.

By 2025 there won't be any more line judges at any ATP-level tournaments, as all will be replaced by electronic calls, but Rune is not opposed to having line judges present as one might think.

"I don't mind that it's like this with line umpires judging. Most of the time - almost all the time - they're super accurate. I never stop a mark unless I'm 100% sure. I was 100% sure. Apparently, I was right because I saw the Hawk-Eye after the match and it was out," Holger Rune admitted.

Holger Rune was quick to point the finger at the experienced chair umpire Mohamed Lahyani, who he thinks reads the mark wrong sometimes.

"This is the umpire's decision. There were obviously many cases with Mohamed that make mistakes. Also, I heard in the first match with Murray, I heard some mistakes. It's just about how you read the mark. Obviously, he reads the mark wrong sometimes," Rune said.

Novak Djokovic gives verdict on ATP removing line judges from 2025 after Holger Rune loss

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Djokovic was also asked to comment about the ATP's decision to switch to electronic line calling on all tournaments from 2025 after his loss to Holger Rune in the quarterfinals of the Italian Open 2023.

The Serb has had quite a few arguments with chair umpires during his career, especially on clay where disagreements on ball marks often happen between players and umpires.

"Obviously, we pride ourselves in tennis that we maintain the tradition and culture and history. This is one of the things that has been there forever, the line umpires. Of course, it's not an easy change for a lot of people to accept because they're part of the game, they're part of the sport. We are so used to having line umpires," said Djokovic.

Traditional as he is, the World No. 1 is looking forward to the change, citing technological advancements in the last decade.

"I think it's one of these things that I think it's a good decision because technological advancements have improved so much in the last decade or so. We probably won't have the drama that I think people like to see sometimes, especially on clay, arguing with the umpires about whether the ball was in or out, looking at the mark, and having the crowd get into it."

"Yeah, I think it's a good decision. It's the right direction to move into when it comes to that. I'm not supportive of technology taking over everything but in this direction, I'm supportive of that," he added.