Holger Rune Outlines What He Must Do to Reach the Level of Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner

Holger Rune to kick off his US Open men's singles campaign against Dutch star Botic van de Zandschulp.

Holger Rune Outlines What He Must Do to Reach the Level of Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner

Carlos Alcaraz, Holger Rune, Jannik Sinner (Image via X/The Tennis Letter, We Are Tennis)

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Holger Rune has revealed that he’s not concerned about beating Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner but rather about his performance, on the court every day. The 22-year-old was expected to compete against the two stars, but has found himself struggling and has dropped out of the top 10 in the ATP rankings.

The Dane is yet to make the semi-finals of a Grand Slam tournament in his career. His best run at a major tournament was reaching the quarter-finals of Wimbledon and on two occasions at the French Open. Despite his bold ambition, Alcaraz and Sinner have been more impressive on the court than he.

The pair have dominated the men’s circuit, winning the last seven Grand Slams. In fact, they have faced each other in the final of the last two majors, with Alcaraz winning the French Open and Sinner getting his revenge at Wimbledon. Sinner has also won three of the last four major tournaments.

However, Rune has a good head-to-head record against the two stars. He has met Alcaraz four times on the court, beating the Spaniard twice, including their recent encounter at the Barcelona Open final. He has also beaten Sinner twice but holds a 2-3 head-to-head record against the Italian star.

During an interview with The Guardian, the former World No.3 revealed that he’s less focused on beating Alcaraz or Sinner on the court, but more concerned about playing at his best level consistently. He added that both players have raised their levels in recent months and that has made him want to follow their footsteps:

My problem is not beating those guys [Sinner and Alcaraz]. My problem is being consistent in going deep in every tournament to get a chance to play them more often because I feel like that’s where I raise my level. It’s very clear that when Carlos and Jannik play each other they raise their level…It’s just about delivering it consistently.

Rune was expected to face Sinner for the sixth time in the semi-finals at the Cincinnati Open, but the World No.11 was stunned by French qualifier Terence Atmane in straight sets in the last eight. Nonetheless, he will be hoping to do better at the US Open, where he will face Dutch star Botic van de Zandschulp in the first round.

Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner are projected to meet in the US Open final

Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz are projected to face each other at the US Open final, which will be their third consecutive Grand Slam final clash if it happens. The former has been handed a tricky draw at the tournament as defending champion and will open his account against Czech Republic star Vit Kopriva.

Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz
Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz (Image vIa X/Jannik Sinner HQ, Carlos Alcaraz 4K)

He could face former Canadian Open champion Alexei Popyrin in the second round before a potential clash with 27th seed Denis Shapovalov in the third. In the fourth round, he could possibly take on American star Tommy Paul or Alexander Bublik, who defeated him in the third round of the Terra Wortmann Open.

He’s then projected to face Jack Draper in the quarter-finals. On the other hand, Alcaraz will face huge-serving Reilly Opelka in the first round before Mattia Bellucci or Juncheng Shang. He could then face Luciano Darderi in the third round before a potential meeting against former US Open champion Daniil Medvedev in the fourth round.

If the five-time Grand Slam champion goes through he’s projected to face World No.6 and Canadian Open champion Ben Shelton in the quarter-finals, before a possible encounter against Novak Djokovic or Taylor Fritz in the semi-finals.

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