Holger Rune turned around his recent slump in form by winning back-to-back matches at the Basel Open for the first time since July. Much of his uptick in performances has been attributed to his hiring of Boris Becker, and his coach’s unique methodologies to bring out the best in the Dane.
After wins over Miomir Kecmanovic and Sebastian Baez, Holger Rune faced a stern test from Tomas Etcheverry and had to contend both with the Argentinian’s aggression and the umpire’s hilarious antics.
Djokovic endorses Rune’s move with Becker
Novak Djokovic had worked with Boris Becker from 2013 to 2016 and in those three years, Becker guided the Serbian to six Grand Slam titles and 14 Masters 1000 titles. Becker even mentored Djokovic during his 2016 French Open win, a tournament the German has never won.
Djokovic was quizzed about Rune’s union with Becker during the Paris Masters and the Serbian was immediately appreciative and optimistic of the partnership’s success.
“I think it’s a very good decision from Holger to invite Boris to join his team,” Djokovic said.
Djokovic also talked about how Becker had made him play chess during their years together as a way to improve mental focus and clarity.
“I think he’s got huge potential—potential to be a Grand Slam winner, no doubt. So I’m sure that Boris will be able to help improve his game overall,” he added.
The impact of Becker’s coaching on Rune was immediately seen as the Dane won his first three matches in the Basel Open with ruthless aggression and a clear-cut strategy to outfox his opponents with intense shotmaking.
Holger Rune left speechless over umpire’s shocking mistake
In a hilarious yet insulting moment on the tennis court, the umpire officiating the quarterfinal between Tomas Etcheverry and Holger Rune caused a blunder by calling the Dane ‘Casper’.
The moment occurred during a break in play as a sweaty Rune slumped into his chair and had a chat with the official. “Most of the time you are good, Casper,” said the umpire before Rune corrected his mistake. “I’m not Casper,” Rune replied as an awkward silence ensued.
Casper Ruud had been eliminated in the second round itself, which made the blunder even worse and hilarious. However, Rune wouldn’t have seen the event in a jovial fashion given his run-ins with Ruud in the past. Their clashes reached a boiling point when Rune gave a cold handshake at the net during their 2022 French Open match.
Nonetheless, in the viewer’s eyes, the official’s mistake had hilarity written all over it, as Ruud had exited the tournament a week prior and Rune looked drastically different in appearance from the Norwegian.
What are your opinions on the Rune-Becker partnership? And do share your thoughts on the umpire’s blunder in the comments section below.
