Rune hires former Djokovic coach

After losing 10 of his last 11 matches, the world number six decided to team up with coach Boris Becker - who used to coach Novak Djokovic.

On October 19, coach Becker announced exclusively on the Eurosport Germany podcast that he will coach Holger Rune for the rest of the 2023 season. The Danish player has been losing consecutively since being eliminated in the Wimbledon quarterfinals in early July and has recently contacted the German strategist.

Coach Becker has not coached any tennis player since parting ways with Djokovic in 2016. Photo: EG

"I was a little proud when he contacted me," said Becker, who has won six Grand Slams. "We have known each other for a long time. When he was 16, Holger was Djokovic's sparring partner at the ATP Finals. I have always been interested in Holger Rune because he is very determined on the court and has a lot of charisma."

During his coaching career, Becker helped Djokovic win six Grand Slams between 2014 and 2016, including Roland Garros 2016. After that, the former German tennis player was caught up in a legal case for tax evasion and was helped a lot by Djokovic. He turned to being a commentator for sports channels after breaking up with Djokovic.

Rune will be the second player Becker has coached. In an announcement on October 19, the 55-year-old strategist believes the upcoming collaboration is a "great fit" for both parties. Rune has been struggling with a back injury, losing 10 of his last 11 matches in the past three months. Yesterday, October 18, the 20-year-old continued his defeat in his opening match at the Stockholm Open, with a score of 4-6, 2-6 against Miomir Kecmanovic.

Rune was disappointed after losing by one point in the match against Kecmanovic on October 18. Photo: AP

In April, Rune parted ways with veteran coach Patrick Mouratoglou after just six months of working together, to reunite with his old strategist Lars Christensen. But the cooperation with his compatriot coach did not bring results. The Dane will work with Becker, starting from the Swiss Indoors in Basel next week.

Rune's family wanted Becker to join the coaching staff in Stockholm this week, but he had personal issues ahead of him. Becker will join Rune's mother, Aneke, and coach Lapo Becherini in taking charge of the 20-year-old's career. Their main goal for the rest of the year is to help Rune qualify for the ATP Finals - a tournament for the season's top eight players in Torino, Italy.

"Rune is a rough diamond that needs to be polished," Becker added. "He needs to control his emotions better. I coached Djokovic, who sometimes wasn't quite himself on the court. With Rune, it's not about kicking his mother out of the stands in the middle of a match, it's about winning. I have some ideas about what can be improved, starting with attitude, mentality and spirit."

Becker also rated Rune as one of the top young players in the world, along with Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, Ben Shelton and Sebastian Korda. He did not confirm that he would take Rune to world number one as the player dreamed, but said that he would try to help him become the best version of himself. In his young career, the peak of Rune's career was last year's Paris Masters championship, where he defeated Djokovic in the final.

Vy Anh

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