WATCH: Novak Djokovic gracious in defeat as he praises Holger Rune for winning the Paris Masters, says “I’m sure the future is bright for you”
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Novak Djokovic and Holger Rune
Serbian World No.7 Novak Djokovic was full of grace despite losing in the Paris Masters finals to Danish 19-year-old Holger Rune in a close encounter. The match went down to the wire and Djokovic had his chances in the match.
He was once up 3-1 40-30 in the third set but failed to utilize his chances as the younger opponent held his nerve in the crucial moments. Despite being sad about the loss, Serbian was ever graceful to the Danish world No.18 in the post-match interview on the court.
Djokovic started by quoting that he is happy for the kid despite him being on the losing end,”I’m happy for you because I like your personality – I think you’re a very dedicated guy that loves tennis – and I’m sure the future is bright for you. As I said yesterday, he reminds me back in time. Backhand, drop shot, mixing things… Since the US Open 2021, his level of play is two or three levels higher.”
The gracious gesture by Novak Djokovic after losing such a close encounter is welcomed well by the tennis world. It is not easy to hold your head straight after losing but the Serbian was seen as graceful and showed true sportsman spirit.
Novak Djokovic said that Holger Rune reminds him back in time
Novak Djokovic was going for the teenager’s legs as he still looked physically going neck to neck with such a younger opponent. He looked in great touch hitting just 3 unforced errors in the first set. But Rune came back strong in the second set and then won some crucial points in the third set to seal the deal.
The match lasted 2 hours and 34 minutes with Rune winning 3-6,6-3,7-5. The Serbian has played little tennis in the past couple of months, owing to the covid-19 restrictions. However, the 35-year-old has won all three tournaments he has played in the last four months, including Wimbledon 2022.
The former World No. 1 last competed at the Astana Open, where he defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas in the finals. The 1980s-born Novak Djokovic is battling now against the 2000s generation in addition to the 1990s generation. He and Spanish World No.2 Rafael Nadal have constantly shown the tennis world how to deal with faster young guns who are currently at their best forms.
However, more interestingly, the question is how long they can continue as we could see some hints of the generation change in today’s final.
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