Holger Rune “can’t wait” for Novak Djokovic rematch in Rome

WATCH: Rune needed five match points to reach his first quarterfinal in his first Rome main draw.

Fresh from a grueling three-setter against Alexei Popyrin, Holger Rune was all smiles to hear his next opponent will be 22-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic.

“I can’t wait, honestly, to play the No. 1 in the world,” he beamed after the 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 win over Popyrin at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia. “It’s going to be a great experience, even though I’ve already played him twice. The last match was insane, the biggest win of my career.”

That win came at the Rolex Paris Masters last fall, where Rune, then aged 19, completed a run of five straight Top 10 victories with a three-set win over Djokovic in the final for his first Masters 1000 trophy.

It catapulted Rune into the Top 10 himself; he has steadily built on that momentum surge in the months since, channeling a sometimes-pugnacious on-court approach into a second-week appearance at the Australian Open and a second Masters final in Monte Carlo—earning him his current career-high ranking of No. 7.

For all he has done to become part of the conversation, it's clear sharing a marquee with Djokovic tickles the still-baby-faced Dane, who is effusive in his praise of the six-time Rome champ.

“I believed I can beat many players on tour, and I’ve shown I could beat many guys at the top, but winning against Novak helped me a lot because he’s one of the greatest of all time!”

But a second-set hiccup nearly prevents the 20-year-old from booking the clash with Djokovic, who outgunned Cameron Norrie, 6-3, 6-4 to reach a 17th straight quarterfinal in Rome earlier this afternoon. While the top seed was serving out his British rival, Rune found himself deadlocked against an in-form Aussie who nabbed the lone break of the second set to force a decider.

He kind of reminds me a little bit, the way he plays. Really fit physically, great defense, but also great counter-puncher. He can hurt you from both forehand and backhand side. Really solid serve. Aggressive returns. Just all-around player on all surfaces. Novak Djokovic on Holger Rune

“It was tough. I know Alexei has played some very good matches here,” he said on court of Popyrin, who upset No. 10 seed Félix Auger-Aliassime earlier in the tournament. “He was coming back after losing the first set, so that obviously stressed me a little bit. Even though I started well, I knew he was going to fight until the end.”

Rune returned for a break of his own and shook off a brave last stand from the world No. 77, who saved four match points in a titanic penultimate game. With three more match points on his racquet, Rune would only need one as he serve-and-volleyed his way into the last eight.

“Tomorrow, you cannot expect anything but a tough match, so I have to be ready to do everything I can.”

Djokovic, who has practiced with Rune in the months since their epic encounter, revealed he sees some of himself in Rune in his post-match press conference.

“He's one of the hardest workers out there. Nice guy. I get along well with him. On the court, obviously, we certainly want to win against each other.

“He kind of reminds me a little bit, the way he plays. Really fit physically, great defense, but also great counter-puncher. He can hurt you from both forehand and backhand side. Really solid serve. Aggressive returns. Just all-around player on all surfaces. Particularly on clay I think he finds himself really comfortable playing. He played finals of Monaco, was really close to win the title there.

“He's in very good form and I look forward to a challenge. I think it's going to be a very physical match.”

Djokovic currently stands 1-1 in his head-to-head with Rune, having won their first match at the 2021 US Open in four entertaining sets.