Holger Rune plots Miami move after Indian Wells final

Perhaps Holger Rune’s glass is not half-empty. Perhaps it is not half-full. Perhaps the glass of the 21-year old Dane is just too darned big.

Rune, the strapping 21-year old from Denmark, will play the Miami Masters with high hopes after he took a big step toward righting the listing ship of his career last week in the Indian Wells Masters 1000. There, he knocked off resurgent Grand Slam finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas and, in the semifinals, former US Open champion Daniil Medvedev. Through the luck of the draw, Rune also evaded former Indian Wells champion Taylor Fritz and, most prominently, defending champion and upset victim Carlos Alcaraz.

The only thing that stood in the way of Rune claiming his second Masters 1000 title (more than two-and-a-half years after securing his first) was the lanky British man ranked one tick below Rune, No. 14 Jack Draper. The moment seemed propitious for Rune, but Draper was on a roll following his semifinal win over Alcaraz. He rode 10 aces and claimed an impressive 41 percent of Rune’s first serve points to win, 6-2, 6-2, in under 70 minutes.

This was a bitter loss for Rune because of how comprehensively he was outplayed at a time when he was confident and proud of his game. But Draper, a 23-year old, 6-foot-4 lefty has a wicked serve and a ground game that is both consistent and explosive. His progress as a pro has been slowed by injury and fitness issues, but those days seem past. He added an exclamation point to that at Indian Wells.

“I think I could have done my part better,” Rune told reporters after the match. “The few chances I had to make it difficult for him, I didn't quite take them, because I wasn't really trusting every shot of my game today.”

Rune praised Draper’s booming serve, which prevented the Dane from winning more than eight percent of Draper’s own first-serve points. Rune had no solution for Draper’s forehand, which is gigantic in spite of the fact that Draper, like Rafael Nadal, is a natural right-hander. Rune is one of those players who likes to swarm over opponents, pushing and overwhelming them with a straightforward power game. But you can add another name to the list of players Rune cannot successfully bully.

Rune is usually an opaque subject in the press interview room, a literal-minded young man given to speaking in broad platitudes. But he’s a complicated young man who has had to navigate complicated relationships with his mother and conflicts with a host of coaches. He has spent a lot of time spinning his wheels, unable to build further on that shocking win he crafted as a 19-year old at Paris Masters in the fall of 2022.

But let’s turn our focus on the glass half-full.

Rune was just 9-5 in tournament matches this year at the start of the Sunshine Double. He caught fire in the desert and put together his best run in more than a year. He was particularly enthusiastic following his well-crafted, intelligent win over Medvedev.

“I feel like I can play like this day in and day out,” Rune said after that win. “I'm not closing my eyes and hitting the lines on every shot like you can maybe do once per year. I feel like I'm definitely building the points, mixing up the tempo, grinding, finding solutions when they're tough.”

Rune had no trouble finding solutions against Draper when they last played, in the Cincinnati Masters quarterfinals last year. Rune won that almost as easily (6-4,6-2) as Draper did in this last meeting, underscoring that Draper is a different player in 2025. That might have caught Rune unawares.

I have been playing good matches, very good tactical matches. . . I think I'm improving as a player, and also mentally, I'm improving a lot. Definitely I feel a lot of motivation, actually. Again, after a match like today, I feel like I want to finish the job in Miami all the way. Holger Rune

Maturity—rather, the struggle to attain it—has played a notable role in Rune’s career as well. He’s brash, confident, and given to leading with his chin. Last year before Wimbledon, he raised eyebrows when he said that he hoped to join Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner as a new Big Three. He was given a rubbishing for that one.

But hand it to Rune: he’s not one to back down and he still likes his long-term chances. He is unlikely to go away. The loss to Draper certainly did nothing to dampen his desire to step up to the elite level.

“Yeah, a lot to take out, a lot to learn from [the Indian Wells result], for sure,” he said. “It's been a good two weeks. I have been playing good matches, very good tactical matches. . . I think I'm improving as a player, and also mentally, I'm improving a lot. Definitely I feel a lot of motivation, actually. Again, after a match like today, I feel like I want to finish the job in Miami all the way.”