Rune reveals the technical change that led him to come back against McDonald

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Although the first round of Holger Rune at the ATP 500 in Queen’s 2025 was quite friendly against O’Connell, the truth is that this Wednesday he had to endure more against Mackenzie McDonald, with whom he started 6-2 down in a rather baffling first set. How do you change the momentum when it seems like nothing is working? That was the obligatory question after sealing the comeback by 2-6, 6-1, and 6-1. Rune's response did not lean towards confidence, tactics, or even luck. The 22-year-old player confessed that it was a slight modification in his racket grip that allowed him to unlock his potential and start dominating a match that looked grim. Below we share his statements on TennisTV.

Improving throughout the match

“The key was that I started serving much better after the first set. Honestly, I think it couldn't have been a coincidence; among the points to improve, this was a fundamental one. I made several changes from that first game; it's a bit crazy because I even adjusted something in my racket grip, and everything started working quickly. Before this, I felt unable to put a first serve in play; it was terrible. Something had to change, I looked for a solution, and fortunately, I succeeded. This change boosted my confidence in my game; not only did I start winning some free points, but I also began to outperform in long rallies, compete much more relaxed. I started hitting the ball in a cleaner way, bending slightly better, and striking it where it needed to go. That's when I did my best to speed up the game, and that's how the victory came."

What changed in the grip?

“It's nothing significant, just that we made a minor adjustment during the preseason to see how it worked during training sessions. Today I was feeling that things weren't working with my serve throughout the first set of the match. I don't consider myself a top server at the level of the best on the circuit, but I do think I can serve well, at least some days. In that first set, I got broken twice, so it was evident that I had to wake up, had to change something. I started thinking about the solution, quickly started communicating with my coach, although he didn't suggest I change the grip. In the end, I did it anyway."

Finishing the match during the day

“It's a blessing, fortunate to finish at these hours, as I mentioned at the beginning of the match. After the first set, all I thought about was to stay calm, remain composed during the match, and not look beyond the next game. Then it's hard to achieve that; I admit I started to think about what would happen if I won the second set by 6-4, maybe there was no choice but to finish the match the next day. Suddenly, I started playing really well, things began to go very fast in my favor. Once we got to the third set, I aimed to increase the pace of the match a bit to try to finish it today. Now I'll have the perfect time to rest, train tomorrow, and prepare for the quarterfinals on Friday.”

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Rune revela el cambio técnico que le hizo remontar ante McDonald