After advancing to the fourth round of the Indian Wells 2024, Holger Rune spoke about a hilarious comparison of his leg muscles with those of Novak Djokovic. He backed himself to have the best quadriceps on the tour.
When Rune appeared on the Tennis Channel after his third-round win, the hosts brought up a recent viral image that compared Dane and Djokovic’s leg muscles. Asked who has the best leg muscles on the ATP Tour right now, Rune put his name forward. He clarified he was not being narcissistic but just had immense belief in his legs. He said not only do they look good, but also help him on the court.
“I mean I would have to back myself, to be honest. I’m not being selfish or anything, I just believe in my legs you know. Not just the look but even on the court I think they’re efficient. And yeah it’s a cool photo.”
Analyst Prakash Amritraj inquired whether Holger Rune and Novak Djokovic are flexing their quadriceps. The 20-year-old said that is just how their lower limbs look even when at rest and not being flexed.
This photo was taken ahead of the Indian Wells 2024 when Rune and Djokovic trained together. Since then, the youngster has moved on to the final 16. He received a walkover in the second round after Milos Raonic pulled out and then dispatched Lorenzo Musetti with ease. Djokovic, meanwhile, won his opening clash but stunningly lost against lucky loser Luca Nardi to go out in the third round.
Holger Rune jokes about using short shorts as ‘mind tricks’
Rune is renowned for wearing extremely short shorts, as stars of the 1980s like John McEnroe used to sport. The Tennis Channel commentators touched upon this, asking the Dane how short he prefers his lower apparel to be. He said he likes an inseam of around five inches long, saying the shorts he was wearing during the interview were just as long.
“Think five inches is pretty good. I don’t know how long these are, but they’re around five.”
Prakash Amritraj remarked Holger Rune usually pulls up his shorts a little in tight match situations to intimidate the opponent. The latter agreed, saying he had done the same against Lorenzo Musetti as well. He joked that the Italian conceded a point when their second set tiebreak was level because he pulled his shorts up a bit.
“Yeah, I pull them up. Did you see 5-5 in the tiebreaker? That’s why he missed the forehand. It’s a small mind trick.”
Rune will now face Taylor Fritz in the Indian Wells 2024 Round of 16, chasing his second ATP Masters title.
