‘Ultimate competitor’ Holger Rune is the combination of Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer claims the Dane’s performance coach

Novak Djokovic beat Holger Rune 7-6(4), 6-7(7), 6-3 in his first match of the 2023 ATP Finals.

‘Ultimate competitor’ Holger Rune is the combination of Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer claims the Dane’s performance coach

Novak Djokovic (L), Holger Rune (M), Roger Federer (R) (Sources: Bein Sports, Tennis365, Economic Times)

Holger Rune recently revamped his entire coaching team. Due to a rift between his former coaches, Patrick Mouratoglou and Lars Christensen, the youngster ultimately decided to end terms with both of them. However, his performance analyst, Mike James, was one of the lucky exceptions in his coaching team to keep his job. In a recent interview, he was all praise about the Danish player. 

Talking about Rune, Mike James said that his explosiveness, creativity, sense of the game, and most importantly, his mentality amaze him. He revealed that the youngster is obsessed with winning, even if it’s a game of table tennis. James went on to say that Rune is a mixture of Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer due to a very precise reason. 

YouTube video
Holger is Holger, he has his own game. But if I had to make a comparison, he could be a mix of Djokovic and Federer. Novak for repeatability and power, Roger for flair and creativity. This is an ideal, of course. But it would be nice to take half of each.
Mike James via L’Équipe (H/T: We Love Tennis)

Rune appointed Boris Becker as his new coach after parting ways with Patrick Mouratoglou and Lars Christensen. So far, he has shown signs of progress as he made it to the semifinals of the Swiss Indoors and the quarterfinals of the 2023 Paris Masters, where he gave such strong competition to Novak Djokovic. There has been a return of the comeback mentality in the Danish player, which he had been lacking for so many months now. 

FS Video

Holger Rune suffers a defeat against Novak Djokovic in his first match of the 2023 ATP Finals 

Rune faced Djokovic in his first match of the 2023 ATP Finals and he suffered a defeat against the Serb despite playing brilliantly. Rune took the match to the very last set after the first two sets were decided in tie-breaks. This shows how intense this match was. 

Novak Djokovic Holger Rune (R)
Novak Djokovic (L) Holger Rune (R) (Source: SkySports)

Djokovic won the first set while Rune won the second. It was exactly the same as the events that transpired in the Paris Masters. Glimpses of passion and aggression could be seen throughout the match, as both players do not shy away from venting out their pure emotions on the court. Djokovic thus won the match 7-6(4), 6-7(7), 6-3. 

The Dane has been placed in the Green group of the 2023 ATP Finals alongside Djokovic, Stefanos Tsitsipas, and Jannik Sinner. After his loss against the Serb, he must ideally win the other two group-stage matches in order to qualify for the semifinals. 

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