John McEnroe urges Holger Rune to dial back his antics

John McEnroe believes that Holger Rune needs to tone down the antics that turn crowds against him.

McEnroe knows first-hand the alienating impact brattish behaviour can have on a player.

The former Superbrat also feels that Rune is prone to going off the rails when he gets sucked into acting up.

In an appearance on his brother’s podcast Holding Court with Patrick McEnroe, the seven-time Grand Slam winner had some advice for Rune.

“I’ve said this before, I’ll say it again, it’s hard to be a total asshole and be on the tennis tour, okay? It’s possible to do it but you end up living a very lonely existence,” John McEnroe said.

“He likes to ham it up, he likes to engage the crowd, but he does it in a way that kind of irritates his opponents at times. Certainly irritates the crowd. So what’s happening is, he’s developing a reputation,” he added.

McEnroe believes that Rune is capable of winning multiple Grand Slams and will be a threat at the French Open this year.

“I think Rune will come around. I do think he’s a threat to do some serious damage at the French [Open this year]. The guy is a tremendous talent, brings a ton of energy to the court. I think he’s capable of winning Majors. This year, probably not. He still to me is a little bit up and down in the course of matches, but we’ve seen him play great and big matches,” he opined.

Rune appears to be aware that he can lose control at times and believes that the key for him to tame the dark side is to enjoy his game as much as possible.

“I’m working on getting better all the time,” he told Danish publication SpilXperten.

“So it’s not by chance or luck that I can do what I can do. I work hard on individual parts of my game, but also a lot on playing the tennis I like. I have a good foundation and I don’t really have any limitations, so I just have to be free and play what I want to play.”

“It sounds simple, but it’s also something you have to practise. To be true to your playing style. You can’t sleep your way to big results, and at the same time you have to have fun, I think. It’s important for me to have fun. When things are going best for me, it’s when I feel calm around me and have fun. I love playing tennis, and that’s probably my biggest drive.”