Holger Rune feels like he has ‘a bit of’ Roger Federer in his team
Holger Rune has began his Australian Open campaign in winning style with the former coach of Roger Federer, revealing that he feels like he has a part of his ‘childhood idol’ with him.
Rune beat Yoshihito Nishioka, 6-2 4-6 7-6(3) 6-4, earlier today on Rod Laver Arena in a match that lasted three hours and 25 minutes.
The 20-year-old spoke about the difficulties in the match after progressing to the second round, “It’s tough, but it’s always exciting to start the first round. The conditions were hot and dry so it was difficult. The ball was fast but it was good to start with a match like this. I had to fight and I’m just happy to play some very good tennis at the end.”
The Dane has continued his partnership with Boris Becker, while also adding Severin Luthi, who was part of Federer’s team from 2007 until his recent retirement in 2022.
And he spoke about Federer after the match, “It’s amazing [to have Federer’s coach]. Roger is my childhood idol so it’s great to have a bit of him in my team. It’s cool and thanks to my team and all you guys for supporting me.”
Very happy to welcome Severin to my team alongside Boris 🤩 pic.twitter.com/ZGsOzojfNZ
— Holger Rune (@holgerrune2003) December 20, 2023
Rune now moves onto play French wildcard Arthur Cazaux, who won his first ever Grand Slam singles match earlier today, in a first-time meeting between the pair on Thursday.
Inside the baseline…
Holger Rune seems to be compiling a very strong team at the moment, currently having the former coaches of both Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic. It was a strong start for the Dane in Melbourne against a tricky opponent in Yoshihito Nishioka, who he had lost to in their only previous meeting. It bodes well for Rune, who has a good opportunity in his quarter of the draw to achieve a best ever result at the Australian Open.
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