Holger Rune made it through to the second round of the 2025 US Open on Monday with a pretty solid win. But honestly? What he said about his opponent afterward was way more surprising than the actual result.
Going into this year’s tournament, people weren’t expecting huge things from the Danish player. It’s been a pretty mixed season for him.
His biggest win came at the Barcelona Open earlier this year, where he beat Carlos Alcaraz in the final. Though to be fair, Alcaraz was dealing with some physical issues at the time.
| Name | Age | Points | Stats 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Holger Rune | 22 | 2,540 | 22 - 12 |
Rune’s US Open Struggles
For some reason, the US Open just hasn’t been Rune’s tournament. He’s crashed out in the first round in both 2023 and 2024.
That’s pretty rough when you consider he made it to the third round back in 2022.
So when he faced Botic van de Zandschulp on Monday, he really needed to avoid making it three straight opening-round losses at Flushing Meadows. And van de Zandschulp? He’s got a history of pulling off some pretty big upsets.
The Dutchman’s most famous moment came at last year’s US Open when he absolutely demolished Carlos Alcaraz in the second round. It was one of those matches that had everyone’s jaws on the floor.
Sure, Alcaraz wasn’t playing his best tennis that day. But van de Zandschulp was incredible from start to finish.
He also beat Rafael Nadal in what turned out to be Rafa’s final professional match at the Davis Cup Finals in Malaga. Again, Nadal wasn’t at his prime level, but van de Zandschulp kept his cool in front of a really hostile crowd.
The Unexpected Accusation
Here’s the thing about van de Zandschulp – he’s known for being super calm and relaxed. On and off the court, he’s just this really chill guy who doesn’t seem like he’d try to mess with opponents’ heads.
Which is why Rune’s comments after their match were so shocking.
Rune won the match 6-3, 7-6, 7-6, playing better when it mattered most. But then in his interview with US Open Radio, he dropped this bombshell about van de Zandschulp trying to wind him up during the match.
"He made it a little bit personal. He made a fist pump right in my face, so I know how he behaves when he’s a little bit stressed, so it’s okay. I’m not afraid of that, I just turned it into fuel."
The weird thing is, Rune didn’t show any anger or reaction during the actual match. He just noticed what he thought was this targeted fist pump, used it as motivation, and then brought it up afterward.
Others Disagree
Not everyone’s buying Rune’s version of events, though.
The Double Fault Podcast was apparently courtside for the match and they had a completely different take. They replied to the interviewer on social media saying they didn’t see anything like what Rune described.
"I was courtside for that match and I didn’t get this impression at all from Botic. Really hope Holger didn’t make too big of a deal of this cuz that’s crazy thinking."
It’s a pretty stark difference in perspective. Van de Zandschulp really does seem like one of the last ATP players you’d expect to get into mind games with opponents.
He was probably pretty shocked when Rune’s comments started making the rounds online.
What’s Next
Rune’s got Jan-Lennard Struff waiting for him in the second round on Wednesday. The German’s game is built around his serve – if that’s not working for him, he’s gonna be in real trouble.
For Rune, it’s a chance to keep building momentum and maybe finally have a decent run at the US Open. Whether or not there was actually any gamesmanship in his first-round match, he seemed to handle it pretty well.
