Nick Kyrgios chuffed with Holger Rune calling him a "hell of a player"

Nick Kyrgios expressed his delight after seeing Holger Rune call him a "hell of a player" in a recent interview.

The World No. 8 recalled an instance when Kyrgios helped him out with tactics while he was playing on the ITF circuit, praising the 27-year-old for how "nice" he treated him back then. Rune claimed that the two have had a great relationship ever since and called the Aussie a "hell of a player."

“I was playing on Futures tour. He was very nice to help me out with tactics & very polite. I was just like ‘Ok I’ll give it a chance & try to text him’ & he replied. Since then we’ve had a great relationship. I respect him a lot. He’s a hell of a player," Rune said in an interview with Gazetta.

Kyrgios took to Twitter to express his delight at the Dane's comments and posted a few emojis, including a few heart emojis.

Nick Kyrgios has often spoken highly of Holger Rune in the past and once claimed that the Dane had the potential to win several Grand Slams in his career.

"Holger's potential is incredible, and it is big enough to win several grand slams during his career. It could be big for the sport of tennis," the Aussie told Danish newspaper B.T.

Kyrgios also said during an Instagram Q and A that the one player he would want to coach would be Holger Rune.

The Aussie elaborated on this by stating that the Dane was very entertaining to watch and that his work ethic showed his passion for tennis. He further claimed that he could bring the element of fun Rune's game needed.

"Holger is so entertaining to watch play. He has an incredible work ethic because he just loves the game. But sometimes he might need some fun in his game, I think. And I think I would be able to bring that. He already has it all in place in terms of how he's going to do things, but maybe I could come up with a few other things," Nick Kyrgios said.

Nick Kyrgios defended Holger Rune after post-match exchange with Stan Wawrinka in Indian Wells

Nick Kyrgios practicing ahead of the 2023 Australian Open

Holger Rune received a lot of criticism for his post-match exchange with Stan Wawrinka after losing to him in the third round of the recently concluded BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells.

The Dane could be heard telling the Swiss during their post-match handshake:

"You got nothing to say now?"

This was in reference to Wawrinka telling Rune to stop behaving like a baby on the court during the post-match handshake from their meeting at last year's Paris Masters.

While many criticized Rune, Nick Kyrgios came to his defense, claiming that Wawrinka was in a good mood only because he won the match.

"Hahahaha yeah all good when you win...typical. @holgerrune with you my brother," the Aussie wrote on his Instagram story.

Holger Rune is currently competing at the Miami Open, where he reached the fourth round after defeating Diego Schwartzman 6-4, 6-2. Here, the Dane will be up against ninth seed Taylor Fritz.