"I started serving better after the first set," Rune explains his victory over McDonald at Queen's

Holger Rune took a set to settle into his round of 16 match at the ATP 500 Queen's tournament. Facing Mackenzie McDonald, the world No. 9 Dane dropped the first set before bouncing back to win in three sets (2-6, 6-1, 6-1).

Delivering a solid performance, Rune hit 30 winners (including 13 aces) and committed 15 unforced errors. After his victory, he reflected on the turnaround.

"After the first set, the only thing on my mind was staying calm, keeping composed, and not looking beyond the next point. I admit I thought about what might happen if I won the second set in a tight scoreline, like 6-4. Maybe we would’ve had to finish the match tomorrow (Thursday). From that moment on, I started playing well, and the match quickly shifted in my favor. The key was that I began serving better after the first set. Honestly, I don’t think it was a coincidence.

I changed a few things at the end of the first set—it’s a bit crazy because I even adjusted my grip and how I held my racket, and suddenly everything started working. In the third set, I tried to speed up the tempo a bit more to make sure we finished tonight.

Now, I have a day off and plenty of time to rest, practice tomorrow, and mentally prepare for the quarterfinals on Friday," Rune stated. He will face Roberto Bautista Agut just days after their Roland-Garros clash, as reported by Punto De Break.