Ruud on his relationship with Rune: "It's much better now".

Casper Ruud and Holger Rune have a history dating back to their quarter-final at Roland Garros in 2022. The two players had quarreled over certain ball marks on the Paris clay.

Rune later accused Ruud of shouting at him in the locker room, and Ruud said the Dane needed to grow up.

The Norwegian returned to the conflict: "Things like that can come out of your mouth in the heat of the moment. Holger and I talked it over and became friends again.

He's probably matured, as have I. And then we leave things like that behind. I first met him when he was 17.

I've followed his evolution and he's become a fantastic tennis player and also a very nice guy. We get on very well. The atmosphere is now much better than it was two years ago."

This reconciliation has been confirmed on the court, as demonstrated by the good atmosphere between them at the Nordic Battle, exhibition matches pitting them against each other in a round-robin format, with each set played in the player's country.