Holger Rune's coach Patrick Mouratoglou reflects on teenager's Australian Open 2023 loss to Andrey Rublev

Holger Rune suffered a devastating loss at the 2023 Australian Open on Monday, bringing to an end his stellar campaign at Melbourne Park.

The World No. 10 was pitted against World No. 6 Andrey Rublev in the fourth round of the tournament. While the win predictions constantly switched from one player to the other during the match, the fifth set super tiebreak concluded in favor of Rublev.

Holger Rune led 5-2 in the fifth set, up by one break. The Dane, however, fumbled while serving for the match at 5-3 and gifted Rublev a break back and an opportunity to level things in the decider.

Rune also failed to capitalize on two match point opportunities at 5-6 before the match went into the final set tie break.

The 19-year-old was leading 5-0 in the 10-point breaker as well, and looked primed to take home the win. But he lost his footing yet again and conceded defeat on a lucky net cord by Rublev, settling the score at 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 4-6, 7-6(9).

Taking to social media after the match, Patrick Mouratoglou, who is currently a part of Rune's coaching team and has previously coached the likes of Serena Williams and Simona Halep, evaluated the teenager’s loss. The French coach stated that, albeit "disappointing" in the end, Rune’s run at the 2023 Australian Open was admirable.

Mouratoglou praised the World No. 10 for being courageous, and also congratulated Andrey Rublev for his perseverant showing in the match.

“It is always disappointing to lose, and even more on a net cord ball. We have to congratulate Andrey Rublev for a great match and wish him to go far into the Australian Open!” Patrick Mouratoglou said.

“I want to express my admiration for this young player Holger Rune for all the progress he has made. He is courageous, he is full of enthusiasm and energy and he will achieve great things in the future without a doubt,” he added.

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Holger Rune likely to rise to a new career-high ranking after Australian Open, Andrey Rublev to face Novak Djokovic

Andrey Rublev apologizes to Holger Rune before celebrating victory after lucky net-cord match point

Holger Rune has had a magical run in recent months. After winning his maiden title at the 2022 Bavarian Open, the 19-year-old went on to feature in four other finals, lifting two more trophies - at the Stockholm Open and the Paris Masters.

Rune, who stood outside the top-100 at the start of 2022, now enjoys a place on the elite list of the top 10 men’s tennis players in the world.

Owing to his run at the 2023 Australian Open, the Dane is currently placed at a career-high ranking of World No. 9. However, he faces the prospect of being leapfrogged by Karen Khachanov and Sebastian Korda, who are still in contention for the Australian Open title.

Meanwhile, Andrey Rublev has reclaimed his career-best ranking of World No. 5 in the live rankings. In pursuit of a new career-high ranking, the Russian is set to face off against Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open.