His mom Aneke has described his constant bouts of illness during the spring season as a “tsunami of virus, unforeseen setbacks,” as he struggled with flu and food poisoning during tournaments in Rotterdam, Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro and Monte Carlo.
Therefore there were also many doubts about Rune's form before the ATP tournament in Barcelona where he has surprisingly produced some of his best tennis this year and managed to reach the final on Saturday.
The Danish tennis star needed just an hour and seven minutes to secure a place in the final in a comfortable win against Khachanov, and the game plan was clear from the start.
"For most of the match I played well, there were a few points at the end where I was too passive, but otherwise I played really aggressively and on my terms. He is really good at serving, both in the forehand and the backhand, so I tried to make it difficult for him with drop balls, slices and high balls."
"It's always a balance, but I'm happy with the way I handled it", said Rune in the winner interview, after the match.
Regardless how the final ends, Rune will be back in the Top 10 when the world rankings are updated on Monday. A big suprise for Rune, who did not have such high expectations for himself in Barcelona.
"This is the first tournament on clay for me, so I'm trying to get into the rhythm. I've told myself that I'm going to use this week as a training week, where you build on every day, but now it's not really a training week anymore", said Rune, before elaborating on his return to the top 10:
"It's been a really good week, and I'm happy to be in the final and back in the top 10. It feels good. I'm just looking forward to tomorrow", said Rune who in the final will meet the winner of Carlos Alcaraz against Arthus Fils.