Boris Becker ‘proud’ to ‘confirm’ he is Holger Rune’s new coach
Holger Rune has officially replaced Patrick Mouratoglou with former No.1 Boris Becker, and the pair are set to begin working together next week.
Rune has struggled for form and fitness since reaching the quarter-finals of Wimbledon for the first time, winning only one of his last 11 matches.
The Dane’s latest defeat came yesterday, losing in his first match at the Nordic Open to Miomir Kecmanovic, 6(4)-7 2-6.
UPSET IN STOCKHOLM! @MioKecmanovic takes down no.1 seed Holger Rune 🤯#StockholmOpen pic.twitter.com/6ogEAByFZy
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) October 18, 2023
And now tennis legend Becker has confirmed that he will be the new coach of the world No.6, “I can confirm that I am Holger Rune’s coach.
“It makes me a little proud that he asked me. The contact has existed for a long time. Now it was a very good fit. My calendar allows it and I have always been interested in Holger because he is on the tennis court with so much commitment and temperament.”
When speaking on the Eurosport Germany podcast, Becker spoke about how this partnership came about, “Holger then invited me to a training week in Monte-Carlo. I also had a long chat there with his mother Aneke and his performance coach Lapo Becherini.”
Becker continued, “The three of us are responsible for Holger from now on. Unfortunately, I can’t be at the tournament in Stockholm this week because of previously arranged appointments.
“But I will be there in Basel at the latest, and afterwards, I will play Paris-Bercy with Holger – and hopefully help him to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin. That is the big goal and that is the task.”
The German has only previously coached Novak Djokovic, and Becker has compared Rune to his former client, “Holger is a rough diamond that needs polishing. I like his emotional outbursts. I have coached a player before, Novak Djokovic, who was sometimes not quite himself on the court, but that is allowed.
“The question is: how quickly do you find your way back into the match, are you focused again? In the end, it’s not about sending your mother out of the stands, but winning the match. I love tennis and when one of the best 20-year-olds in the world asks me if I’d like to coach him… anyone who says no doesn’t have much to do with the sport.”
He added, “Of course, it’s all about attitude, even if it’s so easy to say that. But it is the main reason why tennis matches are won or lost. For me, it’s about: what is Holger’s motivation and the reason to go to China, for example. Is it just to win the first round or the tournament, is it for ranking points?
“That has to be discussed and it has to be very clear what the motivation is. I have some ideas on what can be improved. It starts with attitude, mentality, psyche – and I have a little idea about that.”
Becker has confirmed that he will work with Rune until at least the end of 2024, and he has revealed what he wants to get out of the relationship.
“It would be b******* to claim now that Holger will become No. 1 or win the French Open,” said Becker. The fact is that he is one of the best young players in the world. He plays in a concert with Alcaraz and [Jannik] Sinner or soon [Ben] Shelton and [Sebastian] Korda.
The six-time major winner continued, “My ambition is to find the best Holger Rune. To do that, the tournament schedule has to fit. If he plays every week, he will eventually get tired.
“That’s why I have to have a big say in this, according to the motto: ‘Here we have to insert a training week, here we have to regenerate, and maybe you go on holiday with your girlfriend for 10 days’. That is part of the planning, because in the end, I am jointly responsible for the success.”
Rune will begin his partnership with Becker next week at the ATP 500 event in Basel, where he was runner-up to Felix Auger-Aliassime last year.
Inside the baseline…
Rune needs something to change, as his chances of qualifying for the ATP Finals appear to be slipping away with his current form. Although Becker has not coached many players previously, his track record with Djokovic was excellent having won six Grand Slams, 14 Masters 1000 titles and two ATP Finals with the Serb. It will be very intriguing to see how Becker’s first coaching role in seven years works out with the talented young Dane.
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