Social media is used by millions around the world for a variety of reasons with Norway’s Holger Rune managing to set up a meeting with Novak Djokovic himself.
Rune, who is the current world No.1 on the junior circuit, says he contacted the 18-time Grand Slam champion via Instagram to see if he was interested in practising with him. Prompting a reply from the Serbian who agreed to the surprise to Rune and his team. It is not the first time the two have come across each other. The 17-year-old was a hitting partner during the 2019 ATP Finals where he hit with Djokovic, as well as Roger Federer, Daniil Medvedev and Stefanos Tsitsipas.
“Novak Djokovic is the World No. 1,” Rune told TV 2 Sport. “I wrote to him on Instagram, to be completely honest. (To check) whether he was in Monaco or in the area, because I saw that he had withdrawn from Miami. Then he wrote back.”
It will be the first time the teenager has had a hit with Djokovic on the clay. He won the French Open Boys’ title two years ago and on the senior circuit three out of his four ITF titles were won on the clay.
“He hits the ball so clean, it’s crazy,” Rune said of Djokovic. “He does not miss many balls, so he is cool to train with. You get a good rhythm. You play lots of training sets. I hope he would like that (playing sets) so I can see if I can take a set from him.”
Coached on the Tour by Lars Christensen, who he describes as one of his biggest inspirations, Rune is currently ranked 317th in the world. Earlier this month at the Santiago Open he won his first ever ATP before defeating Benoit Paire to reach the quarter-finals. He has only played nine ATP matches so far in his career.
The rising star hopes his recent experience of playing in South America will give him a confidence boost for the coming weeks as he seeks to rise up the rankings. As well as test Djokovic in Monte Carlo.
“Now I have gained some experience at that level and know that the difference is not that big either,” he explained. “There are some small things with the choices they make under different situations, but I believe I can at least play with him.”
