Holger Rune gives perfect response to troll on social media but loses at Aussie Open

If two years ago you placed a bet (and I am not sure why you are betting but it's your money) that one of the rivalries that would develop in tennis would be Holger Rune and Stan Wawrinka, you likely won a lot of money. Rune is 17 years younger than Wawrinka so how would these two find a way to get into heated discussions? And yet, they did.

At the 2022 Paris Masters, Wawrinka lost to Rune but at the net immediately following the end of the match, Wawrinka told Rune, "My advice to you is that you stop acting like a baby on court." Wow, right? To be fair, Rune had gotten into previous spats on the court with Casper Ruud and Cam Norrie as well.

In 2023, the two played again at Indian Wells and Wawrinka won the match. As the two met at the net, Rune said to Wawrinka, "You got nothing to say now?" Wawrinka seemed genuinely confused and asked Rune, "What do you want me to say?"

Holger Rune gives classic retort to social media troll

That all made for great viewing for fans simply because we do not normally get to see any animosity between players, especially a young player capable of greatness and an older player who has won Grand Slams. The issue between Rune and Wawrinka was brought to life again in Netflix's recently recent season two of their excellent tennis docuseries, Break Point. Specifically, episode two shows the conflict between Rune and Wawrinka, and Rune does not come across very well.

Rune appears to get a lot of social media hate from his issues with Ruud, Norrie, and, most importantly, Wawrinka. Most players might not bother to respond. To do so might end up in a long-term spat that only ends up making the player look worse no matter how much filth is directed at him or her.

But Holger Rune did recently respond to one fan who was trying to troll him about his bout with Wawrinka. And Rune response was calm and measured and the kind of response we all should give to social media trolls. In other words, Rune gave the perfect retort when he said simply, "Relax, breathe. We (he and Wawrinka) are friends."

Also not friends with Holger Rune is Arthur Cazaux. Cazaux bounced Rune out of the Australian Open on Thursday in four sets 7-6(4) 6-4 4-6 6-3. Not exactly the start to 2024 Rune wanted.

Read more from Lob and Smash