Holger Rune shares what he said to his coach about Jack Draper immediately after losing the Indian Wells final to him

Holger Rune has opened up about his straight-sets loss to Jack Draper in the Indian Wells final, acknowledging his own shortcomings while praising his opponent’s dominant performance.

Draper secured the biggest title of his career with a commanding 6-2, 6-2 victory over Rune, a win that propelled him into the ATP top 10 for the first time. Now, the British star has set his sights on closing the gap on players like Jannik Sinner, Alexander Zverev, and Carlos Alcaraz.

For Rune, however, this marks his third consecutive defeat in an ATP Masters 1000 final. Following the match, he shared the conversation he had with his coach, Lars Christensen, about his performance and Draper’s impressive display.

Rune on Draper’s Performance and His Own Shortcomings

Rune struggled with consistency in the final, making 20 unforced errors while hitting just seven winners. Despite this, he believes his downfall wasn’t being too aggressive but rather not being aggressive enough.

“I actually just spoke to my coach after the match, and we evaluated things quite quickly, which is always helpful,” Rune explained in his post-match press conference.

“Obviously, Jack played an amazing tournament and fully deserved to win. His serve was incredible. But I think I could have done my part better. The opportunities I had to play aggressively just weren’t good enough.”

Rune admitted that while he had played tactically smart throughout the tournament, he wasn’t fully committed to his aggressive game in the final.

“I think that’s why I lost today,” he said. “Jack was playing extremely well, but in the few moments where I had a chance to make things difficult for him, I didn’t take them. I wasn’t fully trusting every shot of my game today.”

Draper Matches Roger Federer’s Indian Wells Record

Draper’s emphatic victory also placed him in the history books. At just 70 minutes, the final was the shortest Indian Wells championship match since Roger Federer’s 2004 victory over Tim Henman.

That win marked the start of three consecutive Indian Wells titles for Federer, a streak that ended in 2007 in shocking fashion. Coincidentally, Henman has been one of Draper’s biggest supporters and has backed him to reach even greater heights following this breakthrough triumph.

Now, Draper will shift his focus to the Miami Open, where he has yet to progress beyond the third round in his three previous appearances. With his newfound confidence and momentum, he’ll look to make a deeper run this time around.