Quick questions with Holger Rune: Special feelings & Montreal poutine

Many fans lined the exit of Court Central Tuesday evening in Montreal shouting Holger Rune’s name. Some wanted an autograph, others asked for a photo. There was enthusiastic support for the 21-year-old from Denmark, who had just defeated Roberto Bautista Agut 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 in the first round of the Omnium Banque National presente par Rogers.

Rune, who reached a career-high No. 4 in the PIF ATP Rankings last year, is competing in Montreal for just the second time. But he felt like a crowd favourite when he battled into the second round.

ATPTour.com caught up with the 13th seed, who will next play another Spaniard, Pablo Carreno Busta, for a round of quick questions with the Dane.

It was pretty cool hearing when they were yelling 'Holger! Holger! Holger!' Do you remember the first time any fans were cheering your name?
Yeah, it was many years ago. And it's great. It feels very good with the support. It's a special feeling. Being able to travel all over the world and hearing my name, it's really cool. Playing the first round here on centre court means a lot, and it was a special occasion. I'm just happy I could reveal good enough tennis to get through.

Did you ever watch a primetime match when you were a kid in the stands?
Millions, millions. Well, not so many in the stands, but definitely almost every primetime match on TV. Even the non-primetime matches, I still was watching. So I was watching almost from Court 14 to centre court, almost every tennis match.

But also, I was privileged enough to travel to a few tournaments with my family. I went to the Stockholm Open when I was a kid. It's cool to have these memories in the bag, and now to be there as a player.

Leaping into Round 2 ?@OBNmontreal | #OBN24 pic.twitter.com/8mAgdRVRkv

Does any match stick out from Stockholm?
Yeah, I was watching... I'm quite sure it was actually [Gael] Monfils against [Milos] Raonic, which is quite funny, because I was supposed to play Milos tonight. I'm very, very young, and they're still on the Tour, so it's pretty cool to be able to share those moments with these players.

You're off tomorrow. What does a day off in Montreal look like for Holger Rune?
We'll go and eat a poutine. It's a Canadian specialty food, which is apparently very, very good. I've heard that I should definitely eat that, but not on the match day, it's too heavy. But it's the same, honestly. Wake up, eat breakfast, do some physio work, mobility, prevention, practise, cool down, get ready for the next day. So it's boring, but cool.

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