He is the player who Stan Wawrinka once accused of being a ‘baby’ in feisty match at the Paris Masters

Stan Wawrinka and Holger Rune were drawn to play each other in the 2022 Paris Masters first round.

The occasion represented the first time the two players had met each other in an ATP Tour-level match.

Rune emerged victorious on the day, triumphing in three sets in the French capital.

The Dane’s victory was, however, far from the main talking point after the match.

Holger Rune called Stan Wawrinka a ‘baby’ at the 2022 Paris Masters

Wawrinka came incredibly close to ending Rune’s 2022 Paris Masters campaign at the first hurdle.

The Swiss star was unable to convert any of his three match points, before losing 4-6, 7-5, 7-6 on Centre Court.

Wawrinka was less than happy with Rune’s conduct during the match, labelling the young Dane as a baby.

Upon shaking hands at the net, Wawrinka said to Rune: “My advice to you is that you stop acting like a baby on court.”

This was far from the first instance Rune had ended up in hot water on a tennis court.

Casper Ruud, the former world number two, also took issue with Rune’s behaviour during their match at the 2022 French Open.

“I don’t know Holger personally, but I have seen on TV that sometimes there can be a lot of dram,” Ruud said after winning 6-1, 4-6, 7-6, 6-3. “He’s young and new, so that’s excusable, but when you’re on a big stage, it might be time to grow up a bit.”

Ruud went on to reach the Roland Garros final, before losing to 14-time champion Rafael Nadal, 3-6, 3-6, 0-6.

Holger Rune won the 2022 Paris Masters

Rune had the last laugh in Paris, producing some stellar tennis to claim his first Masters 1000 title.

After defeating Wawrinka, Rune triumphed against 10th seed Hubert Hurkacz, seventh seed Andrey Rublev, top seed Carlos Alcaraz, eighth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime and sixth seed Novak Djokovic.

Holger Rune’s path to the 2022 Paris Masters title

• R1: defeated Stan Wawrinka 4-6, 7-5, 7-6
• R2: defeated Hubert Hurkacz 6-5, 6-1
• R3: defeated Andrey Rublev 6-4, 7-5
• QF: defeated Carlos Alcaraz 6-3, 6-6 [RETIRED]
• SF: defeated Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-4, 6-2
• F: defeated Novak Djokovic 3-6, 6-3, 7-5

“For somebody who is so young to show this composure and maturity in the big match like this is very impressive. He’s had a week of his life,” said Djokovic after losing the final.

“It was the most stressful game of my life,” Rune said of the final game of the match, during which he faced six break points before claiming victory. “My heart was almost in my brain. I was already starting to think about the tie-break. I’m very proud I could finish it.”

Rune has qualified for three more Masters 1000 finals since winning the 2022 Paris Masters: the 2023 Monte Carlo Masters, 2023 Italian Open and Indian Wells 2025.

Rune lost all of those finals, to Andrey Rublev, Daniil Medvedev and Jack Draper, respectively.