Rune beaten in a shock first-round result at Flushing Meadows

Holger Rune has not been showing the best of form post Wimbledon, which continued at Flushing Meadows. Error after error put the ball in the Spainard’s court and he was ruthless in dispatching his opponent. 

Some may not have expected the Spainard to provide any sort of worry for the 4th seed on Monday. However he shown poor form for over a month and has publicly shared his frustration and disappointment about his performances in recent times. 

Clinical Carballes

Carballes-Baena was clinical in the opportunities handed to him in the opening set. He broke Holger Rune in the fifth and ninth games of the first set. Instantly putting himself on the upper-hand. Holger battled back in the second set when the Spainard saw a decline in his serving power. Tennis fans saw something a little closer to what they were expecting from the Danish No.1. Unfortunately for him, this was the beginning of the end. \

Left-Knee Troubles

A potential injury in Rune’s left knee may have caused a below-par performance. Into the third set, he called the trainer onto the court after struggling for the previous two sets. The Spainard showed class in his post-match press conference saying that he must ‘work’ to improve. There were no excuses for his lackluster performance. 

Bigger court for the 4th seed?

Rune briefly mentioned that he should have been playing in better conditions due to his ranking. This match took place on Court 5, perhaps a little too low-key of a court for the Dane’s liking! He expressed his thoughts of better players playing in ‘better conditions’ and told reporters that it was ‘disappointing’ not to be on a court such as Arthur Ashe. Rune will have to wait until 2024 for an opportunity on a big US Open court in the first round, as he will be preparing for the tournaments in September.