“Holger Rune is like a machine” - Alex Corretja on why the Dane will be a contender at Roland Garros

Holger Rune will be a tough player to beat, thinks former World No. 2 Alex Corretja after the Dane's run at the 2023 Italian Open.

Rune was the runner-up at the Rome Masters where he fell to Daniil Medvedev in the final. The Russian defeated the Danish palyer in straight sets, 7-5, 7-5.

The 20-year-old had an impressive tournament in Rome, defeating Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals, 6-2, 4-6, 6-2, and Casper Ruud in the semifinals, 6-7, 6-4, 6-2.

That was Holger Rune's second Masters final of the year. He had earlier lost to Andrey Rublev in three sets at the Monte Carlo Masters. Nevertheless, Rune's claycourt season has been impressive and Alex Corretja thinks of him as one of the players to beat at the upcoming French Open.

"He’s like a machine. He hits the ball hard. He works hard. He likes to win. He pushes himself to the limit. He's brave. He goes for it. And he's been playing supremely well. So he is going to be one of the contenders to do well at Roland Garros."

"Of course, he's very young, but he showed already that he's not afraid of anything and he just wants to go with himself, with his personality, and he's very explosive," Corretja added.

Corretja also pointed out that Rune is young and still has things to learn:

"Maybe it's a matter of time that he shows that he is ready and we have to wait to see if it's going to be at Roland Garros or it can be a little bit later. But from what I saw from him, he's showing that he's going to be a tough, tough guy to beat in Paris."

The Dane's already been labelled as the 'Bad boy of the circuit' by some. Corretja thinks Holger Rune shouldn't "pay attention to certain things."

"He's young and he's growing and he's learning how to deal with everything that goes around him. On the court, he will learn when to spend energy on things or not, or maybe just go back a little bit and don't pay attention to certain things. I think he is going to be a tough opponent.

"He's playing finals of tournaments. He's playing and winning different titles. That shows that he is extremely dangerous for opponents. And I'm sure he's someone tough to play against because he hits the ball hard from all sides, and that's never easy," Corretja added.

Holger Rune is the 6th seed at the 2023 French Open

Holger Rune

Holger Rune's chances of winning his first Grand Slam title at the 2023 French Open are not big, but nobody should rule the possibility out, as he is the 6th seed in Paris.

The first seed will be Carlos Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev is right after him, and Novak Djokovic comes in at third. In the fourth and fifth positions are Casper Ruud and Stefanos Tsitsipas, respectively.

The top 10 seeded players at the 2023 French Open, barring sudden withdrawals, will be Andrey Rublev at seven, Jannik Sinner at eight, Taylor Fritz at nine, and Felix Auger-Aliassime at 10.

The 2023 French Open singles main draw starts on May 28.