Danish hotshot Holger Rune – The Viking – says he is aiming to win his first Grand Slam title in 2024.

The 20-year-old, who ended the year ranked No 8 and qualified for the season-ending ATP Finals, has yet to go beyond the quarter-finals of any of the four majors but believes he can take the next step up.

“We haven’t discussed it in the team yet but I have my goals in my mind,” Rune told the Advantage Connors podcast. “It’s to win Grand Slams. “I said it last year also, but I don’t think I knew how much it took. I figured that out during the season. Because I won Paris (Bercy) in 2022, I beat the best players back to back, then you kind of think oh, ok I can do this, I’m a great player.

“Yeah, I did well but it’s different to do it every time and not just in a best-of-three-set match, but in a best of five because you have to do it a long time, you have to keep your focus a long time, you have to be physically fit. There are a lot of things that this year really taught me this year to know what I have to practice in the pre-season and to be better next year.”

French Open the big goal

Rune would doubtless take any of the Grand Slams but when asked he had to choose one to win above the others, he had no hesitation in answering.

“French Open,” he said. “I won the French Open juniors, so for me it’s a very special event to come back to every time. I’ve done two quarter-finals there, I always played great tennis. I like the conditions, I like the environment, I like the Parisian crowd – as long as I’m not playing a French player they’re supporting me very well. It’s a great place to be, I like the courts.

“You know, if I win Australia, I’ll take it, it’s not that I don’t want it. But if they ask me which one you would like to win first, I like to say I’d like to tick off French Open.”

Rune will round off his 2023 by playing in the UTS Grand Final at London’s Excel, from December 15-17.