The rise of Holger Rune has been nothing short of impeccable. Aged just 20, the Danish tennis sensation is already a top prospect in men’s tennis. Further, he is enjoying one of the best seasons of his tennis career, performing consistently in big tournaments. Additionally, he also clinched the ATP 250 title in Munich, Germany. As a result, he has caught the tennis world’s attention with big performances. Recently, Swiss tennis legend, Roger Federer also had a special mention of him.

The 20-time Grand Slam champion is in Vancouver to witness the Laver Cup. During the eve of the tournament, he spoke about the future of the sport, indicating that with the presence of players like Rune, tennis was in safe hands. Let’s find out what the Swiss maestro said and how Rune reacted to it.

Holger Rune has a fanboy moment after Roger Federer’s praise

The Danish sensation has grown up watching Federer and often takes a leaf out of his books during his matches. Additionally, Rune idolizes Federer and has often drawn comparisons to the former World Number 1. Before the start of the Laver Cup, Federer spoke about the current tennis crop after his retirement. The 20-time Grand Slam champion said that the future of the sport was in safe hands with players like Rune, Jannik Sinner, and Carlos Alcaraz.

Additionally, Federer was excited to see what the current generation of tennis players had in store to take the sport forward. Rune was on Cloud 9 after hearing the special mention of him by Federer. He took to Twitter and said, “I admit it. I am a starstrucked. I had to listen twice, (maybe 3-4 times), Roger mentioning my name.”

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Well, being hailed by a sporting legend is certainly not a bad way for the day to go. But personally too, Rune has been heavily inspired by his idol Roger Federer. He once even admitted to copying the Swiss legend’s style on the ATP Tour.

Rune imitates Roger Federer

The 20-year-old had a memorable French Open campaign where he reached the quarterfinals of the tournament. During an interview there, he talked about how he took a leaf out of Federer’s books as far as his sleep schedule went.

Opening up about this, Rune said, “Yeah, I sleep a lot. I love to sleep. I probably sleep around, I don’t know, 9 to 13 hours if I can. It’s a lot. I really like it. I think it’s the best recovery that you can have. You know, I actually think the muscle relax, everything relaxes when you sleep, so I try to, you know, every time I can sleep.”

Meanwhile, Rune pulled out of the ongoing Laver Cup with a back injury. He’ll look to regain his fitness and get his campaign back on track as he aims to finish the 2023 season on a high.

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