“How can Holger Rune not have a head” Alex Corretja questions the youngster’s critics, justifies the Dane’s talent by taking the Paris Masters title as an example
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Holger Rune and Alex Corretja
Holger Rune took the tennis world by storm when he defeated defending champion Novak Djokovic in the finals of the 2022 Paris Masters. Djokovic was going for his 7th title in Paris but was stopped by the spirited Dane who came from a set down to clinch his maiden Masters and third career title.
Rune was certainly the underdog going into the finals and after losing the first set, not many would have hoped for the turnaround he had. The 19-year-old reached the quarter-finals of the 2022 French Open but lost 7 consecutive matches before ending the streak in Washington. With a comeback within the season itself, the young Dane is quickly increasing his fanbase.
Rune was subjected to criticism for his attitude this season but he has silenced everyone with his performance in Paris. Coming to his support was former World No. 2 and 2-time French Open runner-up Alex Corretja who praised him during his interview with Spanish newspaper La Razon.
“Do you know what that boy learned in that final game? That’s a year and a half of training. When you grow up, these players are already consolidated, they have already won Grand Slams and it takes you a while to understand all that too. At Roland Garros with Rune they told me: “You have said that he is very good, but he has no head”.
“But how can he not have a head? What happens is that he is 19 years old and needs to go through a series of stages. What happens is that these strike the stages, they have an exaggeratedly good talent, but then they are able to put it into practice and this only happens to you if you are very special,” said Corretja.
Alex Corretja explains Holger Rune’s brilliance in the Paris Masters finals
The final game of the match between Djokovic and Rune went on for almost 15 minutes with the final set going on for 1 hour and 13 minutes. Djokovic managed to defend one championship point but Rune did not lose another as he battled his way against the 21-time major winner to lift the title.
“Rune has the first match ball and makes a double fault that he doesn’t even know where he throws the second serve because he plays it, then he throws a forehand to the net, then he plays defensively, then he attacks, then he defends. All that concoction that he had in his head is something that will serve him for the next time he is in a similar situation.
“Well, he’ll say: “In match ball I can’t play that second suit, because it’s black or white.” He already knows what those kinds of situations are like. Look at the last point, he plays very defensively, he’s falling short and that makes Djokovic take the initiative and takes some of the pressure off him, he’s going to slipstream and that’s what makes him end up winning.
“Because on his own initiative it was difficult for him to choose what was the right blow at each moment. That’s why I say that this game is going to serve him a lot,” explained Corretja giving a detailed analysis of how the match against Djokovic will help Rune in the future.
The title saw Rune rise 8 places to become the World No. 10 after the Paris Masters. While he was qualified for the 2022 ATP NextGen Finals, the Dane gave up his chance and would be instead traveling to Turin for the 2022 ATP Finals as an alternate after World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz withdrew from the tournament due to the injury he suffered during the match against Rune.
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Sarthak Shitole
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