By Alberto Amalfi | @Tennis_Now | Friday, June 23, 2023
A near body blow from Lorenzo Musetti stoked Holger Rune's competitive fire at Queen's Club.
After Rune repelled Musetti 6-4, 7-5 to reach the Queen's Club semifinals, he credited the sixth seeded Italian's body smash for pumping him up.
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Watch Rune duck a Musetti smash here.
Though the Italian raised a hand in apology, the Dane did not appreciate the shot.
Afterward, Rune said while the play is perfectly legal "it's not the best thing to do" and shared it sparked him to action noting "I'm in the semifinal and he's not."
"Yeah, of course he can do what he wants. I mean, it's not the best thing to do, for sure," Rune said. "But again, it is legal. He can do what he want.
"He can hit the ball where he wants to. Yeah, for sure, this just give me fire in the belly to beat him even more. I'm super happy to manage to beat him in two sets. It feels good. I'm in the semifinal; he's not. So I'm happy."
Photo credit: Clive Brunskill/Getty