Serena Williams’ former coach Patrick Mouratoglou has given his opinion on Novak Djokovic’s potential successor. The Frenchman, famous for his controversial statement, has snubbed Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner while discussing the future of tennis. Mouratoglou has gone with his former protege Holger Rune as the potential World No. 1 of the future.
Rune was coached by Mouratoglou last year and clearly still has high hopes from the Dane. The duo won the Paris Masters together last year, the first big trophy of Rune’s young career. Now, Rune has teamed up with Novak Djokovic’s former coach Boris Becker.
Over the past several weeks, Danish player Rune has recovered from a difficult few months, and he is now getting ready to compete in his first ATP Tour final in Turin. The Danish star is fresh from a goof performance at the Paris Masters, where he pushed Djokovic to three sets in the semi-final.
Rune endured a difficult start to the season and a poor run of form after Wimbledon. The Dane was knocked out in the first round of the US Open but has since regained his form. This partnership with Becker has enabled him to improve his game and compete at a high level again. A positive Paris Masters has helped the Danish star to reach the eighth spot in the world rankings and secure an ATP Finals place.
Patrick Mouratoglou has heaped praise on the Dane and admitted that he has the potential to succeed Novak Djokovic. The Frenchman has admitted that it will be difficult but has shown faith in the youngster.
“He is one of the three or four guys who can be No 1 in the next few years. There will have to be a lot of things fall into place for this to happen, but he can do it. In the last two tournaments he played, he came back to his best level. He played amazingly in Paris. He played Novak a bit early and it was close, so I think he is an incredible player.”
Holger Rune in the same draw as Novak Djokovic at ATP Finals
Holger Rune has been drawn in the group consisting of defending champion Novak Djokovic in the ATP Finals draw. The Danish star will also face the world number 4, Jannik Sinner and former champion Stefanos Tsitsipas in the event. This will be Rune’s first ever participation at the ATP Finals.
Novak Djokovic will go in to the tournament as the favorite to win a record seventh ATP Finals title, while Sinner will be the favorite to join him in the semi-final. Rune will need at least two wins in the round robin to stand a chance to qualify. However, with the Dane performing back to his best under Boris Becker, he will be confident of a positive performance.
