Boris Becker, Holger Rune‘s coach, has praised the youngster’s solid start to the new season.
In the 2024 Brisbane International final, the Dane came up just short against Grigor Dimitrov.
Rune has been dealing with a back issue on the main tour for the past three months.
Despite working hard to improve his fitness, he was eliminated early from the Paris Masters and the 2023 ATP Finals in Turin.
Boris Becker, a six-time Grand Slam champion, became Rune’s full-time coach in October. He praised the Dane’s performance in Brisbane and wished Dimitrov a great week of tennis.
@holgerrune2003 had a successful first tournament of the year! We had 5 matches after the winter break against great opponents, but we faltered at the last hurdle.
But we’d like to congratulate @GrigorDimitrov (who was the better player today). Becker posted on X about Melbourne coming up next.
Holger Rune will be looking to replicate those results and make his Grand Slam debut this year.
He is one of the most promising young players in men’s tennis, having won a Masters 1000 championship in Paris as well as three more victories at the Munich Open and the Stockholm Open.
In Brisbane, the Dane started his campaign with a hard-fought victory over local favourite Max Purcell.
He then defeated the likes of James Duckworth and Roman Safiulin on his way to the final but fell short against the in-form Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov.
The 32-year-old veteran outwitted Rune in straight sets, winning 7-6 (5), 6-4.
Holger Rune’s Australian Open record
Holger Rune, the world No. 8, will compete in his third Australian Open this year.
In 2022, the kid was eliminated in the first round, but he showed promise in 2023, reaching the fourth round.
On his way to the final 16, he overcame world No. 5 Andrey Rublev, as well as Filip Krajinovic, Maxime Cressy, and Ugo Humbert.
In a thrilling five-set battle, the Russian outlasted Rune.
The 20-year-old hopes to improve on his performance from last year and make a huge impression at Melbourne Park Arena this time.
He will be one of the top ten seeds at the Australian Open in 2024.
The event’s top seed and defending winner will be world No. 1 Novak Djokovic, who has yet to play on the men’s tour this year.
The Australian Open 2024 started on January 14, 2024.
Also Read: Fans are upset by Nick Kyrgios’s decision to commentate at the Australian Open in 2024