Novak
Djokovic commented that
Boris Becker has already made positive changes in the
game of his new protege
Holger Rune, after defeating him in the Paris Masters.
The
24-times Grand Slam champion faced 20-year-old rising star Holger Rune for the
fourth time in his career in the quarterfinals of Paris Bercy. Djokovic had to
battle for a hard-fought victory of 7-5, 6-7(3), 6-4, seeking revenge for last
year's final in which Rune claimed his first Masters 1000 title.
Rune, who
had been going through a period of inconsistency in recent months, recently
began a partnership with former world No. 1 Boris Becker as his coach. Becker
had coached Djokovic between 2014 and 2016, during which Djokovic won 6 Grand
Slam titles.
Regarding
this, 'Nole' expressed his opinion that Rune's association with Becker is
already showing improvements in the Dane's game.
“He has
been playing much better in the past few weeks since working with Boris,” Novak
Djokovic said.
“It was
strange seeing Boris in the opposing box, but I knew it might happen this week
and I wish Holger and him all the best in Turin,” he added.
Rune
secured his spot in the Finals after the defeats of Hurkacz and De Minaur, who
were the only ones who could still earn enough points to knock him out of the
tournament. This will be Rune's first time in the tournament, and he will
arrive after just a few weeks of working with Becker.
“We’ve
known each other for some years now and I thought that he has great experience
both with his own career, but also as a coach,” Rune said.
“So, we
talked a little bit, and we had a great practice week in Monaco, and here we
are,” he added.
“It was my
own decision to look around to see what I thought would fit me. I feel like I
thought this would be good and it turned out to be good. So I’m very happy and
pleased with that,” Rune concluded.
