– I am very proud of myself, says Holger Rune in a Eurosport interview, who believes that the key was that he managed to be brave throughout the match. Rune beat the Serb 6–2, 4–6, 6–2 in the prestigious Masters tournament in Rome. Along the way, he felt compelled to rebuke the referee. – Listen to me! I’ve had you as referee three or four times and you make mistakes every single time we play, Rune raged during the quarter-final against world number one Novak Djokovic. LOST: Novak Djokovic had to lose to the advancing Dane in Rome. The Serb also lost when they met in the Masters 1000 final in Paris last autumn. Photo: CIRO DE LUCA / Reuters Rune won the first set 6–2 and thought he had equalized at 3–3 in the second set on his own serve. Instead, a ball was ruled out by referee Lahyani and Djokovic managed to turn the game around and increase to 4–2. When Djokovic then held his own serve up to 5-2, it was black for Rune, who lashed out at the referee. When he sat down, he roared for a physiotherapist, before starting to list the times he believes Lahyani has wronged him. He then referred to two incidents: the final in Basel last year, when a technical error caused an advertising sign to change color in the middle of an exchange of blows. Rune stopped and thought the point should be stopped, but the point was awarded to the opponent Felix Auger-Aliassime. Rune also lost the match in the end. OUTSIDE OR INSIDE? That was the question. According to the referee, the ball was out, which Holger Rune was not happy about. Photo: CIRO DE LUCA / Reuters The second incident was at the Madrid Open earlier this spring, where Rune believed Lahyani had overlooked a ball that went out. – You’re a joke, man. Are you punished for your mistakes? Answer my question? Because if we make a mistake, we get a fine. You don’t get. So please respect the players, Rune told Lahyani. Video footage afterwards showed that the ball was out. – The referee who makes me look bad A few seconds later he continued his tirade by calling out my own coaching staff. – It’s a joke. This guy is a joke. – Again it is the referee who makes me look like a bad guy. It’s always the referee who makes me look bad. Always. It’s his damn fault. RASTE: Holger Rune let judge Mohamed Lahyani hear it. Photo: Gregorio Borgia / AP Referee Carlos Sanches was then called out on the field and Rune repeated the criticism once more. – He makes mistakes every single time. Honestly, it will be the last time I have this guy (as a judge). He is against me every single time, said Rune. Rune broke back in the second set, but Djokovic won to the end 6-4. The players are now engaged in the third and decisive set. The winner will meet the winner of the match between Casper Ruud and Francisco Cerundolo. You can follow the tournament in Rome on Eurosport Norway and Discovery+. Made big headlines against Ruud Dansken has in the past year established himself as one of the world’s best tennis players and is currently ranked number seven in the world. He really showed himself during the French Open last year, where he reached the quarter-finals. There it ended with a loss against Casper Ruud, in a match where Rune shouted several times at the stands. At one point, Ruud made a clear message to his Danish colleague. He seemed tired of the outspoken behavior. – He asked me to be quiet, said Ruud, who was annoyed that the Dane wanted all balls to be checked carefully even if they were clearly outside the lines. After the match, Ruud elaborated on the frustration he felt during the match. – I don’t know Holger personally, but I have seen on TV that there can be a lot of drama at times. He is young and new and that may be to blame, but when you are on a big stage it is perhaps time to grow up a bit.
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