Holger Vitus Nodskov Rune really enjoyed his match against Novak Djokovic at the US Open, even though he lost in the end.
The young Dane, who had to go through the qualifying rounds to appear at the 2021 US Open, competed quite well against world number 1 Djokovic, even managing to steal a set before finally losing by four.
“When you enter the game, it feels really great. Everyone cheered and people shouted my name. At first, I didn’t know what they were saying, but when I found out that they were shouting my name, I felt so happy and almost like Roger on the pitch,” said Holger Vitus Nodskov Rune, who wrote about the moment on his personal blog.
READ ALSO : Here’s Serena Williams’ Tribute To Simone Biles
“In that moment, I was completely surrounded by passionate, happy people, just like myself, and now I get goosebumps writing about it.”
“It goes without saying that it’s not easy to play against Novak, and I can do nothing but fight.”
“Even though I thought I played pretty well in the first set, I still lost 1-6. I just have to keep going because I don’t feel like I played badly despite the end result.”
The 18-year-old was unable to show his best game in the last two sets of this season’s US Open first round against Djokovic who has won his first three Grand Slam titles of the season.
“I am right. I won the second set 7-6 and what an energy and support that came together, I really liked it. However, in the third set I had cramps, which I started to feel at the end of the second set,” admitted Nodskov Rune.
“It’s been a while since I had cramps. At the start of the season it was an obstacle, but we found the right balance between salt and magnesium so the problem was solved.”
“I think maybe all the pressure before the game and the match against Djokovic maybe put a strain on my muscles.”
“Besides, he also plays like that with a line in every stroke, so I have to run more at each point than when I play against other players.”
“I really wanted to take the game into the fifth set, but it will have to wait for now. Despite losing, I’ve taken a lot of positives from that match and there’s a lot I want to improve on my own game.”
