Holger Rune claimed he ‘didn’t feel safe’ during his third round victory at the French Open.
It came as the tenth seed threatened to forfeit his clash with Quentin Halys if an ‘aggressive’ spectator was not removed.
Rune booked his place in the last-16 at Roland Garros with a 4-6, 6-2, 5-7, 7-5, 6-2 victory over his French opponent.
However, the five-set triumph was not without incident after a confrontation with a member of the crowd.
The Danish ace accused a spectator of grabbing his towel as he returned to his box between points.
Rune then launched into a verbal tirade with umpire Adel Nour, who decided against ejecting the fan.
The two-time quarter-finalist could be heard saying, ‘He tried to touch the towel,’ on a courtside microphone during his protests.
As he headed to the back of the court, Rune angrily threw his towel down and argued with the fan, who held their arms up in their defence.
Rune was also seen venting his frustrations towards a tournament supervisor during the incident.
TNT Sports’ Nick Mullins explained on commentary: “Well the conversation between Holger Rune and the umpire Adel Nour continues about the spectator who tried to grab, did grab, Rune’s towel as he took it back to his box courtside.
“Rune said that he wouldn’t play again until the spectator had been ejected.
“He said that he didn’t feel safe, that the guy was getting aggressive. Spectator is still in his seat, and here is Rune serving to stay in this third set.
Rune called for the umpire to have security remove the fan for trying to touch his towelGetty Rune twice came back from a set down on Court Philippe ChatrierGetty“I assume that is at the umpire’s discretion and it would appear that Adel Nour has decided that as much as Rune is upset about it, annoyed about it, it is not enough to kick the spectator out.”
The fan later left Court Philippe Chatrier by their own volition despite Nour not calling over security.
As a result, Rune was happy to continue playing as he came from behind to beat Halys.
Reflecting on his victory after the match, he said: “I tried to change some things. The first set didn’t go how I wanted it to.
“I tried to adapt, with the conditions being much different today. I put more spin on the ball as the ball was flying more, but the player who took more risk was the most efficient today.
“I am very happy with how I played in the fourth and in the fifth, I think that is some tennis I can use moving forward in the tournament.”
The 22-year-old will now face Lorenzo Musetti of Italy in the fourth round on Sunday.
A win would see him into the last eight in Paris for the third time in his career.
Rune previously reached the quarter-finals in both 2022 and 2023 before a fourth round exit 12 months ago.
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