Holger Rune has turned to super coach Boris Becker to try and change his fortunes. The young Danish star has been struggling with poor form and has now partnered with the former coach of Novak Djokovic, Boris Becker. Rune has entered the tournament as the defending champion.
Rune made it to the semifinals of the Basel Indoors recently in his first tournament with Becker as his coach. And on Wednesday, he beat US Open 2020 champion Dominic Thiem in the Round of 32.
Holger Rune had a poor second half of the season in 2023 prior to Basel. The Dane made it to the Wimbledon quarterfinals before he was defeated by the eventual winner Carlos Alcaraz. Then, the 20-year-old suffered nine losses in ten matches after the Wimbledon tournament. Rune was also knocked out in the first round at the US Open.
On the other hand, Boris Becker is well-known for winning titles as a coach. The former World No.1 won 6 titles in his professional career. In 2013, he teamed up with Novak Djokovic and enjoyed success with the Serbian star for another 3 years. Now, Becker hopes to achieve the same amount of success with young Dane, Rune.
After parting ways with France’s Patrick Mouratoglou, Holger Rune has hired Boris Becker in a hope that the German could make him a Grand Slam champion and a top 5 player. This looks like a match made in heaven. Rune has admitted that he is already enjoying working with Becker. The Danish star further admitted in an interview with ATP Tour that he has not found his best level yet but the signs are positive.
“It has been great working with Boris so far, what we are working on is what you see on the track. There were some adjustments we made to get back on track a little more. I was willing to make those small changes and I played a little better in Basel, I was fighting very well. I haven’t found my best level yet, but I’m definitely improving.”
Rune has admittedly made a few changes to his game and would be happy to test it against top opponents at Paris. The defending champion will face the toughest competition now from Novak Djokovic and Jannik Sinner for the title. The Danish player would be glad in a way to see Grand Slam champions Carlos Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev and Andy Murray getting knocked out early in the competition
Holger Rune and his race to the ATP Final
Holger Rune is currently ranked 7th in the world. Rune is now fighting for his chances perhaps for the final spot in the ATP Finals in Turin. It is interesting to note that he was the first alternate in the ATP Finals last year and is totally engaged in the race this year, being at the 6th spot at 3,290 points.
Djokovic, Alcaraz, Medvedev, Sinner and Russia’s Andrey Rublev have already qualified for the mega event in Turin. It is likely that Rune might just make it alongside the likes of Taylor Fritz, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Hubert Hurkacz or Alexander Zverev. Hence, a strong showing in the Paris Masters is the most crucial for Holger Rune.
