It wasn’t the end that Holger Rune would’ve liked. After winning his opening Davis Cup match in the tie against Spain, he was up against Pedro Martinez, knowing that a win would take his country to the Davis Cup Finals. Moreover, Rune even had a match point to seal the tie, but was unable to capitalize on the opportunity as Spain made a thrilling comeback to defeat Denmark 3-2. And if the heartbreaking loss wasn’t enough for Rune, he was also caught in the middle of a controversy. Subsequently, Spanish legend David Ferrer, who is also serving as Spain’s captain for the Davis Cup, broke his silence on this matter.

During the match played in Marbella, Spain, the fans were right behind their team and were very vocal in their support. On one occasion, the constant cheers from the fans irked Rune, and he made a disrespectful gesture toward the crowd. Later, Rune also threw a couple of balls in frustration as tempers began to flare on the court. After the match, Rune even refused to shake hands with the chair umpire. These incidents have drawn the ire of the tennis world, and Ferrer hit back at the Danish star for his unsportsmanlike behavior.

During an interview, Ferrer said, “Listen to me. In the first set, he insulted the fans, then he threw away two balls, and you didn’t even give a penalty. And now this guy comes to me to tell me something. Don’t even think about telling me anything! I’m speaking to you in Spanish because you understand me perfectly. When he sent that ball, he should have received a penalty, and he said ‘F**k you’ to the crowd.”

Ferrer was sitting right beside the court and watched the incidents from close range. He was clearly unhappy with the way Rune behaved during the encounter and was highly disrespectful of the opposition and the fans. However, Rune felt that he was undone by some major umpiring blunders and disrespect from the fans. After the encounter, Rune justified what led to his controversial actions.

Holger Rune breaks his silence after controversial Davis Cup match

Over the past few months, things haven’t quite gone Rune’s way, both on and off the court. While he had a first-round exit at Wimbledon, Rune lost in the second round of the US Open and even failed to impress in the other ATP tournaments. All this boiled down to his frustrating Davis Cup match against Martinez, where he wasted a match point opportunity.

Explaining what went wrong and why he didn’t shake hands with the umpire after the match, Rune said, “The umpire made so many mistakes, it wasn’t a very good work, so I don’t think he deserved it.” Additionally, Rune was also critical of the fans, saying, “I just thought that there’s a difference between Danish and Spanish manners. When we played against Serbia, the atmosphere was also absolutely amazing, but there was clearly more respect. There’s a bit of a difference in upbringing.”

After a disastrous Davis Cup outing, Rune’s next assignment will be the Laver Cup in San Francisco. The Danish sensation will be making his debut at the tournament and will look to put his disappointing results behind him and make a fresh start.