Boris Becker has been tipped to bring the best out of Holger Rune with tennis pundit Alex Corretja saying the German will help Rune to become more consistent.
Following an impressive 2022 season that saw him win four titles, including the Paris Masters where he defeated Novak Djokovic in the final, Rune’s form suffered an alarming dip during the second half of this campaign.
The 20-year-old won only one title in 2023, the Bavarian Open in April, although he also finished runner-up at the Monte-Carlo Masters and Italian Open.
Following a string of early defeats after Wimbledon, Rune decided to hire Becker – who coached 24-time Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic in the past – and it was evident during the final few tournaments of the season that the Dane had turned the corner with the former world No 1 in his coaching camp.
Speaking to Eurosport, two-time Grand Slam finalist Corretja highlighted ways that Becker will help the Dane on and off the court.
“He [Rune] thinks like someone big. When you have someone next to you that understands what that means and who can help you with that, I noticed that he has more self-belief,” the Spaniard said.
“He needs to know the important moments, how to manage different situations, how to control his emotions, how to not spend energy on things that are not worth it. And I think with Boris, he’s going to understand that.
“Boris can help him because he was a star then he was a great coach, and he’s been with players that were No 1. So if he wants to become good, I think Boris is a perfect combination for him. Both of them are people that have huge expectations on their minds.
“I think we forget how young these guys are, and especially Holger. He’s got a very explosive character, also explosive game, and he needs to know how to deal with some other things, not just tennis-wise.
“But he’s learning, he’s growing. He has an unbelievable work ethic. He’s got talent. He plays well in every surface. There is no reason to think that he’s not going to have an unbelievable 2024 because for a period of time he did struggle a little bit with injuries in 2023, but still he ended up qualifying for the ATP Finals.
“He’s going to be ready for next season. But he will need to learn how to be consistent most of the time, not just for one-and-a-half or two hours, because that’s going to be the key to win big tournaments.”