"The whole aura around Novak Djokovic is super intimidating" - Holger Rune expresses awe of Serb's mentality

Holger Rune has expressed his admiration of Novak Djokovic's mentality and stated that the Serbian has an intimidating aura.

Djokovic dominated the men's circuit in 2023, winning a tour-leading seven titles, including three Grand Slam titles at the Australian Open, French Open, and US Open. He ended the season with a 56-7 win-loss record.

Rising Danish youngster Rune, speaking in the latest season of Netflix's Break Point, commented on his admiration of Djokovic's mental fortitude.

"It's these players that you wanted to play in the biggest matches. He's an incredible player, first of all, but incredible mentality. I have so much to learn from that. Just the whole aura around him, it's super intimidating, you know," he said.

Rune's mother Aneke said that matches against Djokovic are super demanding on the Dane.

"What I love to see when Holger plays Novak is his preparation. He loves these matches but they are super demanding for Holger. He goes into this box, closes of completely. He knows if he's doing anything wrong against Novak, he is going to be killed," she said.

Rune and Djokovic faced off thrice last year, with the former winning their first meeting at the Rome Masters. However, it wasn't all plain sailing as the Serbian fought back after losing the first set.

Looking back at that contest, Rune stated that while other players would be visibly frustrated after going down a set, the Serbian barely showed any emotions.

"I won the first set. I looked at him. He just walked to his chair. And I was like "Does this guy ever get angry?" With other players, you can feel that you get under the skin easily. Not with Novak. He's a different type," he explained.

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Novak Djokovic leads Holger Rune 3-2 in the head-to-head

Novak Djokovic leads Holger Rune 3-2 in the head-to-head stats.

Novak Djokovic and Holger Rune have faced each other five times on the ATP tour to date, with the former leading 3-2 in the head-to-head stats.

The two first faced off at the 2021 US Open, where Djokovic won 6-1, 6-7(5), 6-2, 6-1 en route to a runner-up finish. The two then locked horns in the title clash of the 2022 Paris Masters, where Rune emerged victorious 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 to clinch his maiden Masters 1000 title.

Last year, the two players went toe-to-toe thrice, with Rune winning 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 in the quarterfinals of the Rome Masters. Djokovic bounced back in the next two meetings, winning 7-5, 6-7(3), 6-4 in the quarterfinals of the Paris Masters and 7-6(4), 6-7(1), 6-3 in the Round Robin stage of the ATP Finals.