Welcome to the latest instalment of Holger Vitus Nodskov Rune’s blog. The 17-year-old won a Junior Grand Slam title at Roland Garros in 2019 and has claimed four titles since focusing solely on professional tournaments. Holger is writing regular pieces for the ITF and providing insight into his tennis journey. Follow his progress here.

Greetings from Buenos Aires. This week I am making my ATP main draw debut after being handed a wild card entry to the Argentina Open – this is really big for me.

I always seem to get tough draws and here is no different. In the first round, I will play fifth seed Albert Ramos-Vinolas of Spain, who is ranked No. 47 in the world.

Albert is a really good player and someone who has just reached the final at the Cordoba Open after defeating world No. 9 Diego Schwartzman in the last eight. I know that if there is anything at all wrong with my game, I will get punished immediately.

Most players here are in the Top 100 and I haven’t even looked at the draw beyond my match with Albert because every clash will be like a final for me, no matter the opponent.

But this is exactly what I need right now. I am massively excited but at the same time humble and grateful to be here and full of respect as I approach this new challenge.

Although I played Grade A tournaments in Brazil and Mexico, I never got the opportunity to play in Argentina while I was a junior and it’s something I’ve always wanted to do.  

Argentinians in general tend to play great tennis. I am a big fan of Juan Martin del Potro’s forehand and both Schwartzman and David Nalbandian have superb clean techniques which I like a lot.

It’s just an honour to be here; it’s a fantastic old club with so much history and many good names have played here on the red clay. To be one of them is fantastic.

I arrived a few days ago in time to get used to the climate and surface. I have come from -10 degrees in Denmark and training on a hard court to 28 degrees and playing on clay, so it’s very, very different.

I have been on court three times a day since I got here in order to get used to the feeling of clay once more and, today, I trained with Frances Tiafoe. He is a cool guy and a very talented player, while it’s hard not to smile when sharing a court with him.

Although it’s not what I’ve been used to recently, I really like playing on clay. The rallies are longer, the ball jumps higher – so you must move back and forth – and you have to build your points patiently.

You also can’t hit a winner by hitting hard, you have to play more tactically than that, and there needs to be more spin on the serve. All in all, its more challenging physically and for your brain than other surfaces.

Before coming to Argentina, I had two weeks back home in Denmark and I did a lot of fitness work. Feeling strong is important to me mentally, and while I know I can play good tennis, being physically strong makes me more relaxed during matches.

I don’t tend to stress or rush points when I am super fit, while I know I can play for four hours and still think clearly. I like playing tennis more than doing fitness, but I do the fitness to be able to play tennis the way I want to.

There is nothing more frustrating than being able to play well in only one set because you get tired. I hate that so, like it or not, the fitness is a good investment.

I am feeling very good at the moment and I have been able to keep my focus in matches and not let that drop, while at the same time increasing my efforts.

In total, I have played 15 matches in three tournaments (M15 Manacor, M15+H Bressuire and M25 Villena) this year, all on hard courts, and have reached three finals, winning once. It is never funny to lose finals but, overall, I am satisfied with my progress.

My win percentage is up at around 87% now, while it was important for me to have many wins on hard courts because previously in juniors and last year at professional level, I won most of my tournaments on clay. A lot of ATP tournaments are on hard courts so it’s important to improve.

I still have to be sharp on not letting go in matches: one match a month not giving your best effort will end up as 12 matches per year and that is simply too much.

But it has been great playing so many matches. My coach, Lars, always says that confidence comes from training well and not from winning matches. Winning is still important, however, as I can see that I’m taking those practice sessions into matches.

Winning just feels good to be honest, especially when you are working seriously every day to become better. Because I also have goals, the wins mean a lot as I continue my journey.

Winning some matches this week in Buenos Aires would be massive.