Holger Rune crashes out of the US Open

• World No. 4 Holger Rune is out of the US Open after losing to Roberto Carballes Baena in the first round of the tournament
• Following his exit, Rune won’t won’t play on the fan-friendly side court, or on any other court at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center

Holger Rune is out of the US Open after losing to Roberto Carballes Baena in the first round of the tournament. The Dane, who was seeded fourth, is one of the biggest names to fall on the first day of the US Open.

Rune lost 3-6 6-4 6-3 6-2 to world number 63 Carballes Baena on Court No. 5. He refused to blame the court allocation but admitted it was disappointing to play his first round of the US Open in the court. He had made a pointed comment about his court assignment before the match.

Holger Rune lost to Carballes Baena. Photo/ Outlook India.

Following his exit, Rune won’t won’t play on the fan-friendly side court, or on any other court at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center this year.

This season’s US Open, which is the last Grand Slam tournament of the year, began on Monday. Several big names, including world number four Holger Rune, played on the opening day of the tournament.

Rune was expected to feature in the latter stages of the US Open but ended up losing to Carballes Baena. The world number 63 took advantage of Rune’s error-strewn display to capture one of the biggest wins of his career. In total, he broke Rune seven times and defeated him in four sets.

Rune Disappointed With Court Allocation 

Speaking after the loss, Rune said he did not expect to play on the smaller court five instead of one of the bigger courts.

“I feel like it’s normal. I mean, the better you get in the rankings, it’s more, benefits you should get with playing in better conditions. So I think that’s a normal way and it’s also how the ATP do it with all the players. But they didn’t do it with me here. That’s obviously disappointing, but not going to blame the court on the loss.” BBC Sports quotes Holger Rune. 

Rune also revealed that he did seek an explanation from organizers for why he played in Court No. 5 but wasn’t surprised by their response.

Holger Rune exited the US Open in the first round. Photo/ New York Post.

“They said what we all know, that they put the Americans on the big court, which is totally fine. I mean, I’m used to play a lot in France where they do that. So I respect that 100 per cent. That’s not only the case here, that’s it’s only Americans playing on the big courts. That card didn’t really work. Then you try to ask more questions and they don’t answer you. It’s a little bit tough.” The world number four is quoted by Eurosports.

Rune reached the Wimbledon quarter-final in July this year. However, he has only played two matches since then, with both matches ending in defeat. This lack of form clearly played a role in Rune’s upset in the first round of the US Open.