French Open: 'Oooh!' - Tim Henman reacts as rising star Holger Rune crashes into board at back of court

ByDan Quarrell

Updated 26/05/2022 at 16:55 GMT

“Oooh! He seemed to be having a little bit of a chuckle about it," Eurosport expert Tim Henman said as he watched footage of Holger Rune tripping over at the back of the court during his French Open second-round victory over Henri Laaksonen. Fortunately, Rune was okay to continue and went on to complete a fine win, but it could have been very nasty as he tumbled over.

Tim Henman has given his reaction after rising star Holger Rune took a very nasty tumble at the back of the court during his French Open second-round match.

Fortunately, the 19-year-old was okay to continue, and he managed to complete a straightforward 6-2 6-3 6-3 victory over Henri Laaksonen of Switzerland.

But when he raced back and thumped into the advertising boards well behind the baseline, it looked to be a concerning sight for the prodigiously-talented Dane.

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The Copenhagen-based former junior champion was 3-1 up in the third set when the fall took place, and he ended up having to get his foot looked at by a trainer with heavy bandaging as a result.

Thankfully, he did not appear to be too affected by the trip and Henman explained why it is always a potential issue with the space behind clay courts and the high bounces that the surface produces.

“Oooh! He seemed to be having a little bit of a chuckle about it," Henman said as he watched footage of the incident in the Eurosport Cube.

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"Some of those outside courts, especially for clay-court tennis, have such a big space, so much run-back, and when the players are hitting the ball so hard, it’s definitely something you need to do; to drop back, give yourself a little bit more time.

"But then, all of a sudden, you’re crashing into the advertising hoardings, there are court coverers there if it rains, so I’m glad that he doesn’t seem to have done too much damage."

Referring to his serve-and-volley style from his own career, Henman quipped: "I would have been crashing into the net, not the back fence!"

Highlights: Rising star Rune cruises past Laaksonen at French Open

Rune said he was scared in the moments after the incident and has taken the decision to withdraw from the doubles, but is hopeful of being fit for the singles on Saturday.

“It was very unfortunate," Rune said. "Obviously I got very scared when it happened because I was leading in the match and playing [very well].

"I thought it would be worse; it’s not too bad.

"Still, I thought it would be better to retire for the doubles as I did, to see how much I can [recover] for my singles on Saturday so it’s already improving.

"I did a lot of recovery for today; and I’m also satisfied with how I played today.”

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