Former British No. 1 Tim Henman thought Holger Rune definitely gave Casper Ruud a cold handshake and added the Dane will likely regret it in a few days. Following a four-set loss in the French Open quarterfinal, Rune didn’t show Ruud much love at the net.
After the match, Ruud revealed Rune wasn’t happy when he asked why he needed to check every mark. “That was certainly a pretty frosty handshake. I don’t know what their history is. But I think from Casper’s reaction, he was a little bit disappointed,” Henman said on Eurosport.
And probably when Rune looks back on it in a couple of days, he’ll probably realise that that probably wasn’t the best way to go out. But anyway, there’s a lot of other positives to focus on. I hope this will be a big rivalry in the future.
We’re talking about different rivalries in the men’s and the women’s game, and you look at them geographically, it’s great when you get those rivalries and sometimes if there’s a little bit of tension for the spectators it’s all the more interesting.”
Henman, Alex Corretja on the Rune cold handshake
Rune, 19, displayed his talent and potential at the French Open, upsetting Denis Shapovalov and Stefanos Tsitsipas en route to reaching his maiden Grand Slam quarterfinal.
Former world No. 2 Alex Corretja noted that Rune is definitely a talented player but suggested someone should speak to him about his behavior after losing to Ruud. “There’s a lot of positive things. I like the way Rune plays, the way he moves, the way he goes for it,” Corretja said.
“But of course, I think if someone is in the locker room and tell him like, ‘what about that handshake?’, it’s like, you need to go and say ‘Casper, you played very well. Congratulations, all the best for you. I’m going to try my best for the future. I wish I can be there the next time and beat you.’
Source: Tennis World USA