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From No. 10 to No. 1? Holger Rune sets ambitious target for 2023 after breakout season

''My goal is not to be better than Carlos but to be the best," the 19-year-old from Denmark told Marca in an interview.

ByKamakshi Tandon

Published Nov 18, 2022

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Holger Rune has made a big jump this season and wants to make an even bigger one next season.

The 19-year-old from Denmark is No. 10 in the rankings, higher than he aims for at the start of the season.

"My goal for the season was to be Top 25," he said in an interview with Spanish newspaper Marca at the ATP Finals, where he is an alternate in the field. "I did not expect to be an alternate and No.10 in the rankings."

But he doesn't want to stop there.

"My goal for next season is to be No. 1," said Rune. "I have beaten almost all the players in the Top 10, including the No.1. I know what I'm lacking and that's why I'm going to work hard in the preseason."

Rune was ranked No. 103 at Adelaide 1, his first event of the 2022 season.

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It's easy to understand why he's setting his sights higher. Rune has been one of the tour's red-hot players in recent weeks, reaching the final of Sofia, winning Stockholm, reaching the final of Basel, and capping it off by winning the Paris Masters. That followed Rune's first ATP title win at Munich this season.

Among his wins in Bercy were Novak Djokovic and fellow teen and current No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz, who Rune has known since juniors and says has had an "incredible" season.

But he says he isn't pressuring himself to keep up with the 19-year-old from Spain who just won his first Grand Slam.

''My goal is not to be better than Carlos but to be the best," said Rune. "I have to concentrate on myself.

"He is a friend and a rival at the same time. I saw him yesterday and started congratulating him for finishing No.1."

The hard-hitting youngster has been coached since childhood by Lars Christensen and recently added Patrick Mouratoglou to his roster.

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