Holger Rune has been receiving guidance from former world No.1 Boris Becker as he seeks to regain momentum on the Tour.
In an Instagram post, the world No.5 uploaded a photo of his team along with the caption ‘Fantastic training week in Monaco.’ Among those in the photo is six-time Grand Slam champion Becker who has previously coeched Novak Djokovic. According to Danish media, the German has been helping train Rune in Monaco as his current coach, Lars Christensen, had to stay in Denmark.
It is the first time Becker has been seen taking on any sort of coaching role with an ATP player since being released from prison last year. He was originally sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison for hiding assets from authorities after being declared bankrupt. However, he was released after eight months and deported from the UK.
“‘He (Becker) helped Holger this week because Lars (Holger’s coach) was in Denmark,’ Rune’s mother and manager Aneke said in a brief text message sent to Ekstra Bladet.
There has been no comment about whether Becker’s week-long collaboration with Rune was a one-off or if it could lead to a potential partnership in the future. The tennis star had previously been working alongside Patrick Mouratoglou but split with him shortly after his first round exit from the US Open.
The 20-year-old is looking to get back on track after what has been a difficult past few months on the Tour. Since reaching the quarter-finals at Wimbledon, he has only won one match which was against Felix Aiger-Aliassime at the China Open. During this period, he has also been hindered by a back injury but has since undergone treatment to solve the problem.
Rune’s next test will be at the Stockholm Open where he is the top seed. He is currently in the eighth and final qualifying spot for the ATP Finals in Turin. However, both Casper Ruud and Taylor Fritz are less than 400 points behind him.
Rune has a first round bye in Stockholm. He is set to start his campaign against either wild card Karl Friberg or Serbia’s Miomir Kecmanovic.
