James Bond is the rather curious reply when Denmark’s Holger Vitus Nodskov Rune is asked what he would imagine himself doing if he was not a tennis player. On reflection, however, there are certain similarities between him and 007.

Rune is suave, confident, could pay a passing resemblance to a young Daniel Craig and was certainly a hit among the young female element of the crowd during the 2019 ITF World Tennis Tour Junior Finals awards ceremony.

Perhaps tellingly, as was witnessed in Chengdu when he recovered from a potentially tournament-ending ankle injury, he seemingly has the knack of navigating testing situations when the odds are stacked against him. He also likes to work alone.

“I started playing tennis because my sister, Alma, played and I went down to trials and I really enjoyed it,” Rune told itftennis.com. “We played a lot with each other and I started playing tournaments.

“One of the first things which struck me was, unlike a team sport, if you win, you win for yourself and if you lose, you lose by yourself. I like it that way. I cannot get annoyed if my teammates are letting me down. I prefer to win or lose by myself and do it all by myself.

“I played football when I was six years old while also pursuing tennis. When I was seven I had to choose between football and tennis and I’m very happy I picked tennis. From that moment, I have just worked really hard and have aimed high.”

Over the past 12 months Rune has had plenty of experience of dancing to the beat of his own drum. The 16-year-old lifted Junior Grand Slam silverware at Roland Garros in June, and by triumphing on the clay of Paris he went some way to emulating one of his boyhood heroes, Rafael Nadal.

On Sunday, Rune capped a memorable season by being crowned ITF World Tennis Tour Junior Finals boys’ champion after defeating France’s Harold Mayot in the final – a victory which propelled him to the summit of the junior world rankings.

While still eligible to play on the ITF World Tennis Tour Juniors for some time yet, Rune, who has played two Davis Cup ties for Denmark having made his debut in April 2018, is very much eyeing a full-time transition to the professional ranks.

With that in mind, despite being in the fledgling stages of his career, Rune is happy to reveal his lofty ambitions for the years ahead and is not shy at nailing his colours to the mast in terms of his future wish list.

“The ambition is to win all Grand Slams, be No. 1 in the world and win the Olympic Games,” said Rune, whose fantasy round-robin group would contain Roger Federer, not Nadal as “with Roger as well that would be too tough”, Felix Auger Aliassime and Stefanos Tsitsipas.

In many respects his answer is not surprising. Canvass a host of aspiring players and their response to being quizzed about career ambitions is likely to be similar. That said, Rune is considered and there is depth and a rationale to his views and thoughts.

For instance, in the immediate aftermath of his victory over Mayot in front of a packed crowd at the Sichuan International Tennis Centre, he spoke about the importance of mentality and developing the ability to clear big hurdles and deal with pressure moments.

“I have won a few of finals now; the European Junior Championships at Under-14 level, Junior Roland Garros and now this," added Rune, whose dream court to play on is Stade Philippe Chatrier. “You need to have something to win those finals as it's not easy. You have a lot of nerves before the match and there is always a lot going on. 

“It's about calming those nerves, drawing on your experience and focusing on your game. Going forward, having the ability to do that is massive. If the likes of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray couldn't handle the pressure then they wouldn't have won the Grand Slams they have.

“There are a lot of Top 20 ATP players that could win a Grand Slam but don't have the mentality. I’m getting there. That's where I want to go and having that mentality is a process. I'm willing to go through that process and go through the pain to get to where I want to be.”

The psychology of tennis is something which clearly resonates with Copenhagen-born Rune. He added: “I have a lot of mental things to work on. There is much to improve upon but I'm taking those steps.

“You get to a point where the tennis can’t get any better so it’s about fitness and mentality and I’m working on it. Everything I set out to achieve, I achieve, and I believe I can reach the goals I have set myself.”

The depiction of Rune as a Bond-esque maverick is not strictly true as he arrived for this interview with a Davis Cup tag from Denmark’s clash with Turkey last month still on his kit bag, so clearly the concept of team competition and representing his nation mean something.

Rune, who trains at the Mouratoglou Academy in France, also valued the chance to practice with Serbia’s Novak Djokovic in Monte Carlo shortly after the world No. 1 had returned to action following an elbow injury in early 2018.

“When I see the biggest players practice or when I practice with them it is always inspirational,” he said. “It is fascinating to see how they practice, what they do before matches and after practice. It is always so professional. Hitting with Djokovic was one of the most influential moments of my career.”

As with all sports players, upcoming or established, there is a tendency to focus on their professional output and to characterise them as machines: robotic with little life outside of their chosen path. Rune speaks with intensity and passion about tennis but there is more to his character.

Contrary to what Ian Fleming’s fictitious creation might say, while Rune is stirred but not shaken by delivering on the biggest of stages in the coming years, his makeup would not appear one-dimensional, as was suggested by Great Britain's Anton Matusevich during this year's Wimbledon.

“I like to watch tennis, of course, and to hang out with my friends in Denmark,” said Rune, who supported Real Madrid while Cristiano Ronaldo played in the Spanish capital. “I also like to be with my family as I’m not often with them. I like to go out and have dinner and spend quality time with them.

“And I am a fan of James Bond. All the movies are unbelievable and I’m so excited about the new one – No Time to Die – next year. All the movies are so good.”

On court, however, given his insatiable appetite for success, perhaps, for the precociously-talented Rune, the world is not enough.